Avengers: Daughter of Evil
by Hela Lokisdottir
Summary: Chapter 16 - Once Upon a Helheim: "Have care how you speak," Thor exclaimed, standing tall threateningly over Fenrir who looked at him without much concern, "It is my father of whom you speak of."
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I wish I own Marvel, but I don't.

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

Avengers: Daughter of Evil

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><p>The realms were enjoying a period of peace, and despite the internal disputes of each with all things considered, they were all at peace.<p>

The air was thick with the threat of an impending war, and she could smell it in the air like a bloodhound sniffing the trail of its prey. She could almost taste it; the blood, the cries of anguish and despair, the chaos that was about to befall all men – and the realms had thought they'd seen worse, but no, they have only seen but a fraction of the world's impending doom. In the far reaches of the universe, galaxies, worlds upon worlds that used to flourish, decimated – all for the sake of pleasing Death, the perpetrator unbeknownst to her, and she did not feel the need to know, until recently.

What began the simple alliance to restore the balance all those thousands of years ago, had become a conquest for greater power, resulting in the annihilation of entire races and species, leaving nothing in its wake but the screaming souls of those who had fallen. But still, she turned a blind eye, coveting something else entirely, her one true goal – yet, she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that something is amiss, that something has been shrouding her sight from seeing the truth beyond what she sees. But in the end, she was on a different page entirely. She was alluded into thinking nothing of the fate of others, until she saw and felt his pain.

Everything he thought he knew and believed came crashing down into lies in front of him, and he was crestfallen. And that was how it all began.

For over a year, they haven't seen nor heard of him. Asgard mourned him, but did they really? She didn't need to know. Falling off into the void after he let go of Gungnir, everyone but them thought they'd seen the last of him – it surely wasn't, but she feared for him still.

When he was sighted on Midgard – Earth, a shining ray of hope tugged at her, alight with the relief she felt now that she knows he's survived falling off into the abyss, but when she took it upon herself to see what unfolds, she saw that he was changed, altered even; he was no longer the same man they have loved and respected. He was ruthless and decided – though the mortal had been right, he lacked conviction; but the tell-tale signs of his pallid complexion, the dark circles under his eyes, and even the fact that he didn't even seem to have a plan of attack worried her all the more.

That was not Loki, and she was convinced.

Sent to prison in Asgard, she watched him closely. Defeated and alone, she couldn't help but to give her sympathies to the wayward Prince, his actions were truly wrong, but his reasons were so deep-seated, she could hardly blame him at all.

After the attack of the Dark Elves, he was presumed dead, but she knew better. She watched as Odin went in to the chambers to look upon the lifeless body of his fallen son. He mourned for his loss; Loki was lost to him once, and he was enraged by his actions, but he was his son, and he hasn't been been a very good father.

And he couldn't have been dead, and she knew that. It wasn't at all surprising when Loki woke up, pale as death and looking straight into his adoptive father's eyes. Only having been able to see the scenes, she didn't quite catch the inaudible words whispered into Odin's ear.

The last she saw him, was the brief moment when he posed as the Allfather while the real Odin went into the Odinsleep. His brief encounter with Thor in the throne was the last she ever saw of him. Neither she, nor the now fully restored King of Asgard, or the all-seeing guardian of the realm, Heimdall knew where he was, and how he's been.

He simply vanished.

And thus, she came to a decision; one she knew would weigh her down with consequences – but still it was a decision she chose to make.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I dunno what to say. I haven't written in a long time, so I feel kind of rusty. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it! This is my first story in this new account and I really hope I get lotsa love for this. Hahah.

I've been obsessing over Loki for quite some time, and I thought he deserved some more love, and hugs, and, kisses so I went away with it. And despite the tone, this isn't gonna be a very serious fic, I intend to add just about every genre possible 'coz my brain is whack like that.

Please don't forget to fave and review! Remember, we have cookies in Nifleheim!


	2. Unexpected Guest

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Marvel, but if I do then I'll be very old, wrinkly, and filthy rich! And I wouldn't be writing fanfics. Hahah. 

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

Unexpected Guest

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><p>Morning came at the Avengers Tower and Clint was the first to arrive the lounge area, having been woken up by the wafting scent of pancakes, bacons, and eggs through the air vents.<p>

"Holy, wow," he breathed, taking in the sight of the well prepared breakfast on the table, and made a beeline towards the kitchen counter, where stacks of pancakes and waffles were yet to be served – his mouth already watering.

Wondering who took the time to prepare such a meal, he looked around the kitchen and found no one. Furrowing his brows turned to face the couches and that's when he saw one figure slumped in one of the chairs.

Bruce Banner slept haphazardly in one of the sofas, his StarkPad barely falling off the floor in his hands including some print outs of his research with his glasses askew on his face and was lightly snoring. Not wanting to startle good ole' Jolly Green awake, he carefully nudged the doctor on the arm.

"Bruce. Bruce! Hey, Bruce," Clint called, the snoring sounds dissipating as a very much groggy scientist slowly got up on the couch. Cutting to the chase, the archer pointed his thumb towards the kitchen and asked, "Did you make those?"

"Make w-what? Huh?" Bruce scrunched his eyes and rubbed on them, taking a moment to wipe his glasses on the shirt tails of his button up shirt.

"Breakfast," Clint supplied as he bounded off towards the kitchen again, this time, taking a waffle of the stack and munching on it.

"No, I didn't. I was sleeping," Bruce replied, slowly making his way to the kitchen as well, eyeing the huge breakfast prepared on the table and counter.

"Oh, hello there! Good morning," came the soft, accented voice of a woman from outside the doors of the elevator. Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Bruce and Clint turned to its origin and saw a woman with long, dark hair and unusually green eyes carrying two large brown paper bags.

"What the- W-Who?" Bruce intoned, but before he could continue, Clint had jumped off on top of the fridge screaming 'Loki', before an arrow flew past his head in swift succession. In the split second that he saw it zoom past him, he quickly turned towards the female it was aimed at who simply nodded her head to one side, avoiding the zipping arrow from hitting her right in the skull.

Bruce blinked, mouth agape at the quick reflexes of this unknown person – but before he could comment, a grunt coming from the elevator woke him from his shock and saw a very wide-eyed Tony Stark, now frowning at Clint and the arrow, "That was close Legolas! And who's the chick?"

All eyes now on Tony, the woman immediately set down the bags and rushed over to the genius-billionaire and ushering him a safe distance away from the now implanted arrowhead on the wall and was checking him for any head injuries. Tony was still looking at his teammates but between the zipping arrow, the very green eyes and Bruce's shrug of a response, Tony just tuned in to the apologetic voice of their unexpected guest.

"I'm so sorry! Had I known you would be there, I would have caught the arrow. Are you unhurt?"

"Great morning my friends!" Thor boomed as he exited the elevator in greeting, ignoring the stuck arrow to the right.

"Thor!" Clint and Bruce yelled in unison, making the Thunderer stop in his strides and turn his head to the object they were pointing at behind his back.

"Hela?" Thor gasped at the sight of the eponymous Queen of Hel. "What in the Nine Realms are you doing here?! Surely I have not died and went to Hel!"

"Good morning to you as well, dear uncle. And no, I assure you, you are still very much alive and well," The woman with dark hair and unusually green eyes spoke with sarcasm her voice soft and kind the verbal eye roll was almost missed, "I came here to seek assistance in locating my father. He has gone missing and the Allfather refuses to speak to me."

Turning his head down, Thor looked down at his feet with an expression of that of anguish, "My brother is dead, my niece. He has ascended into the Halls of Valhalla, as he died a true warrior's death. You of all beings should know that."

The three men all exchanged looks of varying expressions; who was this Hela, and what is it with looking for her father and her being Thor's niece? Piecing the information they gathered from the little exchange in the conversation – they managed to put two and two together.

Tony, who was half sitting on one of the arm rests, had scuttled away from the woman, pointing a finger at her, "You're Loki's daughter!"

"Yes, I am his daughter," Hela confirmed, and as if an afterthought, she added, "And no, 'I'm not gonna throw you off a window'."

Tony blinked.

"Wait, Loki has a kid?" Clint asked from above the fridge.

"Aye, he has not one, but three children," Thor conceded, nodding his head towards Hela who straightened herself up after Tony moved away from her.

The three male Avengers, minus Thor regarded Hela with scrutinizing looks. The dark hair and green eyes was a sure fire give away, but her appearance made her look as if she's very much akin to Earth, with her speech patterns hardly medieval like Thor's – if anything she sounded more like a proper foreigner. Dressed casually in skinny jeans, a plain white v-neck shirt, three thin strings of multi-length black necklace, with emerald green high-heels, she didn't look quite out of place, as opposed to how Thor had first appeared before him, in leather pants and a great, big, billowing red cape.

After minutes of the stunned and somewhat awkward silence, the elevator dinged and out came a flame-haired woman who regarded everyone with a raised brow.

"What?"

And then she saw the oddly familiar, yet very different gendered person standing a few paces away from Thor. Natasha Romanoff then crossed her arms for an explanation.

"Hello," Hela greeted, "I'm Hela Lokisdóttir, a pleasure to meet you."

Resting her hands on her hip, the assassin looked at the goddess from head to foot, a look of calm and thoughtfulness in her face, "I'm guessing the myths are overly exaggerated."

"Some of them, yes," Hela answered matter-of-factly knowing it was her form she thought of.

"Why are you chatting her up like she's an old buddy?" Clint asked as he landed on both feet from the fridge, "She's Loki's daughter!"

Natasha only responded with a roll of her eye and a grunt, making her way to the food laden breakfast counter, "If she wanted to kill us, we would've been dead."

"What?" The men resounded in unison.

"Indeed, Lady Natasha is correct. If my niece thought to bring us harm, she would've done so without preamble."

The assassin smirked and gave her teammates an 'I-Told-You-So' look. It was then when the First Avenger strolled in from the elevator, ironically he was the last to come in. Seeing the stunned expressions and hostile looks from Clint towards a woman he hasn't seen in his life, Steve Rogers could only utter but one word.

"What?" 

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> This was supposed to be part of the prologue, but the vibe just didn't feel right together so I split it in two.

Well, same drill! Fave and review~ cookies from Nifleheim are waiting!


	3. The Booty Call

****Disclaimer:** **None of us fanpeepz own the Avengers, or Marvel. I dunno. I'm just rambling...**  
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><p><strong>CHAPTER 2<strong>

The Booty Call

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><p>It was a few days since Hela's appearance at the Tower and the Avengers were back to their usual routine – there hadn't been any world shattering incidents as of late, the last one having been SHIELD's disbandment.<p>

Most of the Avengers were wanted fugitives for varying reasons, but mostly it was their association with SHIELD. However, with Tony Stark's riches and influence, they were able to roam around unscathed, and even had former Deputy-Director Maria Hill working for Stark Industries legal department. It had been over half a year since all the Avengers stayed in the Avengers, formerly Stark Tower.

After the events that had Captain America facing off against HYDRA's Winter Soldier, the 'man out of time' had come and go, following leads to the whereabouts of his childhood friend, whom he thought was forever lost to him after he fell off the train during the war.

Knowing that it was a touchy subject, every member of the Avengers were careful in bringing up the subject, even snarky Tony Stark laid off the crude comments.

It wasn't until an unmarked packet made it into the Tower, addressed to Steven Rogers did the past few, uneventful days cease.

The packed included three thick folder files chronicling Bucky Barnes' past as the Winter Soldier; and in one small white envelope contained a flash drive containing a live tracker feed with the coordinates leading to the Winter Soldier's current location.

"Who would send this?" Steve asked as he examined the contents of the folders.

"I had JARVIS scanning the database for the letter head that came with the drive, shouldn't be too long now," Tony grinned while rubbing his hands excitedly.

"Could it be a trap?" Clint piped in.

"We dunno, but the message on the letter seems to want Steve to find him," Bruce answered, re-reading the short message written on the plain white sheet of paper where the aforementioned letterhead was. It read: 'Good luck! I hope you find your friend soon.'

"Whoever sent this had a pin-point accuracy of where he's been. These three other locations were the last leads Steve and I had before we got to a dead end," Natasha said, studying the indicated locations on her laptop screen.

Thor had been listening in on the conversation, brows furrowed.

Tony's StarkPad beeped informing him that the search was complete; pushing the results from his end towards huge screen in the meeting room, "Ha! Found it!"

"Lieschmidt Enterprise?" Steve raised a brow at the information on the screen.

"Huge company; they mainly focus on pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, but they also have other stuff like," Tony practically listed off every business he knew the company was invested in, the rest of them team drowning his words out as they read the information on screen, not entirely sure why or how Lieschmidt Enterprise would know Steve was looking for Bucky, or how they even knew his location.

After reading for a few minutes, the rest of the Avengers eased back into their seats looking at each other, Tony still enumerating what he knows in a droll until he snapped back to attention and flashed the team one of his winning smiles, "And get this. Guess who owns the company?"

They all just looked at Tony with questioning looks on their faces, Natasha being fed up with the suspense barked at Tony, "Spit it Stark!"

"Okay, okay. Geez, don't need to be snappy," Tony raised his hands in mock surrender; "Hit it, JARVIS!"

"As you wish, sir," came JARVIS' voice and the screen showed a picture of the head of Lieschmidt Enterprise.

"Are you kidding me?" Clint groaned and planted his head onto the table.

"Thor, how is this possible?" Steve turned to the God of Thunder who was wearing a stunned expression on his face, similar to that of the rest of the team.

"I do not know. I have not seen my niece in over thousands of years prior to her visit a few days ago," Thor answered truthfully.

"It looks like Hela, or 'Helena Lieschmidt' has secrets to tell," the female assassin shrugged, "how do we even get in touch with her?"

"I might have a way," Bruce raised his hand quite sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. He gave them a small smile before reaching into his pant pocket, pushing a glossy black card into the table, "she slipped that in my pocket when she was saying her goodbyes…"

Tony studied the card and turned to his Science Bro with mock hurt in his eyes, "She gave you her booty call number and you didn't even tell me!"

"Tony!" Bruce cried in protest which the other answered with a hand to his heart as he handed the card over to the others. Composing himself, Bruce huffed a breath and continued, "She said something about needing it in the future."

"But can we even trust her?" Steve asked seriously, "Thor?"

"I do not know what this 'booty call' means, but if my niece left her information to you then it must mean she wants to make contact," Thor said thoughtfully, not realizing the innuendo as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You heard the man, Brucey! She wants to "make contact", quote and unquote" Tony wiggled his brows at Bruce while making quotations marks in the air, not letting the opportunity to slip by.

Steve, unnerved now that he got the reference look at Tony sharply, "Focus, Stark!"

"Yessir, Captain America, sir!" Tony abruptly stood up and made a salute, snatching the card back from Steve as he punched in to dial the number on his phone.

The others only groaned at Stark's antics and waited patiently as Tony put the phone on speakers. The other end rang a couple of times until they heard the click, indicating the call has been answered.

"Hello there handsome," the voice greeted over the speakers and Tony nearly jumped off his skin when he heard the silky-sultry voice answer too close to his ear and saw a pair of very green eyes looking over him behind his back.

Turning to look at the commotion that was Tony Stark, the rest of the Avengers turned wide-eyed as Hela stood next to the genius-billionaire, a mischievous smile on her lips wearing only a black fluffy towel covering her naked body.

"Forgive my appearance, I was in the shower when you rang," and in a green mist of smoke and magic, Hela changed a spaghetti strap mini-dress, an oversized grey, knitted cardigan, low black kitten heels, with her hair pulled up in high messy bun, "I did however did not expect this. I was hoping for something else entirely."

Hela gave Bruce a passing look of intensity before turning to the rest of them people gathered in the room.

"I told you it was a booty call number," Tony muttered next to Bruce, who bit back with a 'Shut up, Stark' remark.

Steve was beet red in the face after the reverse strip show by the goddess; Clint's face a shock of disbelief while Natasha simply smirked at Hela in approval.

"You knew what would happen, didn't you?" The female assassin finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Not really, no. But I must say, some of your teammates are rather," Hela trailed off, an amused look in her face, "Predictable."

The two women shared a soft smile at each other, which to the men in the room translated as a sinister smile of alliance. They couldn't help but gulp and swallow at the idea of those two being friends.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I'm completely disregarding the fact that Thor and Loki are still godling toddlers during the 1st Century A.D. that's why he said he hasn't seen Hela in thousands of years.

I have a perfectly good reason why Bucky was mentioned there, I think. Who knows? And yep, Hela is totally Loki's daughter with that mischievous streak of hers. Hahah.

And for those who followed this fic (Litteheartache, No.21, and johncorn) and the one who faved (readermind), thank you so much! You'll receive your special, Hel-baked cookies in time~

You know the drill! We have cookies!


	4. The Cat's Meow

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Marvel.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

The Cat's Meow

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><p>Raised to never cower before the shadows of the enemy, he had always prided himself in his feats of glorious battle, never mind that his methods were different from the norm – he was proud. The most powerful sorcerer in all the realms, he stood above all creatures that dared unsheathe their blades against him in the battlefield. He may not have been very upfront in his techniques in vanquishing his enemies unlike his brother, but he got the job done, and it was a job very well executed by the sheer numbers of fallen enemies who bow down to him in defeat. As a sorcerer, his methods were frowned upon in their culture, their mighty race standing tall and steady as warriors who prefer to have it out with their enemies face-to-face in an all-out battle of sheer force and fierceness.<p>

He never paid heed to the dirty looks or the snide remarks thrown his way after a long, arduous battle; he knew it in himself that if it had not been for his skills, the battle would be fought longer and harder, resulting to an unyielding and unknown end – and he knew, that despite the words said behind his back, his fellow warriors revered and feared him, earning their utmost respect in spite of the glossed over envy and conflict with how they were born and raised to face battles.

Everything he had done in his long lived life was how he thought he would style himself – the wise brother of the future King, advisor, and friend. He faced many hardships in his life, ones enough to cripple a man, even a god into misery – but he stood tall, biting back the bitterness in the back of his throat thinking it was all for the best when his children, his dear, young, precious children were ripped for his arms, thrown into banishment and lone solitary lives away from each other. And how he wailed in his private escape after hearing the ever wise King's, his father's decision on how to deal with the threat his innocent children posed to the safety of all the Nine Realms. He cried and screamed tears with anguish, finding himself unable to salvage his sons into remaining with him for an extended period – being thrown off into their own personal abyss, his second son the first to fall, left to spend his life in the watery graves of Midgard, far and eons away from causing death and destruction as his eldest followed, and was to remain a prisoner of Asgard, doomed to an eternal fate of being bound to the dark recesses of the realm with a mighty sword plunged into his mouth to prevent the feral howls to escape his lips.

Everyone knew he was drowning in a fit of desolation, but he remained standing tall – but in every time he found himself alone, far away and undisturbed, he cried for his children; he cried with every fibre of his being, cried his soul into exhaustion before wandering back into their golden palace without a trace of the tears he shed for his innocent children.

The only solace he had left was the presence of dear, darling daughter. She was to stay with him until she would come of age to rule the realms of the fallen, forever lost to him in a sacred banishment.

Years, centuries and millennia's have passed and his mournful heart had learned to grieve in silence, to live a life of settling for second best, masking his sorrows for harmless tricks and mischief like he has when he was a child – only this time, he could not rejoice in all his tricks as they became laced with bitterness and unconscious retribution for his loss.

He thought he'd seen the end of it, but he was proven wrong when he learned of his true parentage. The confusion addling his mind, trying to grasp the truth the bared it's jagged teeth before him, snapping its mouth wildly and madly in an attempt to bite his head off – the truth being too much for him to bear.

In all his life he believed the Jötunn's, the Frost Giants to be the monsters of every scary bed time stories. Their reputation smeared in blood as their attempts in conquering worlds and pillaging the riches of foreign realms into the icy pits of their dark, unheeding winters. They were ruthless, and blood-thirsty. They live for terrorizing those below them, embedding fear in the eyes and minds of those they have conquered – there was not a shred of compassion in them. They were cold, heartless; they were monsters.

When he found out he shares the blood of the Jötunn King Laufey, it took him his last tendrils of willpower to fight off the insanity. He, who stood with the Asgardians who slayed the villains like Laufey in battle; he who believed the tales true and that the Frost Giants didn't have a place in the universe for their love for carnage – he who believed he wasn't a monster like them.

Monster.

One word and it plagued him like wraith's taunting him to the brink of insanity. He didn't believe it; he refused to believe it – but once he saw the dark tint of blue worming its way through his skin, the feeling of his eyes being bloodshot before everything turned red, he just had to believe it.

Loki, of Asgard, is a monster; always have been.

And with this truth did he become truly spiteful; him hailing from a race of monsters he could be at peace with – but when the memories of his children, banished and alone for being the monsters predicted in Ragnarök, him being ever a good son agreeing to the terms for the safety of all realms felt that he had been wrong. And that was when he loosened his grip on Gungnir's staff did he let himself fall off into the abyss so that he may never have to rain fire on the innocent because he could feel the last string of his sanity breaking.

From then on, everything had been a muddled journey. Accepting that he was doomed to be lost forever in the abyss of the Void, he found himself at the mercy of an unknown race of warriors – mercy, that is if he was to count the fact that he was still alive, despite being imprisoned, tortured by his thoughts and the feeling that something has seized the darkness in his heart to cause the realms pain. He could feel it; the cold, yet burning feeling in his wounded heart, taking control of him in a haze of anger and tyranny while his mind wandered off into the vivid imaginings of his captor's threat should he not do their bidding, or worse, fail them in their conquest.

They promised him an army, ready to take on Midgard in exchange of him seizing the Tesseract from the mortals and offering up to 'Him' in exchange for power and glory.

In his state of mind he couldn't help but comply, the mortal realm being the object of his ire to hurt his beloved brother who, in his compromised state had not a shred of misery in his being, his darkened heart wanting nothing but for him to see the pain in his brother's eyes when he falls and he, atop them all.

But he had failed; oh but he had failed. Not only was the Tesseract lost to him, he also lost the sceptre they gave him. Fearing for the worst, he let them take him. Asgardian prison was a safe corner of solitude to his raging regret while he tried to repair his mind from the control they had seized over him – but he still feared; he feared for them all. He feared the threats they had so colourfully painted in his memory, the extensive torture they had brought upon him so he would yield, every bit of agonizing memory through the dark year of his long lived life – he feared it, they knew his weakness.

Loki, of Asgard has found an enemy he couldn't stand over – only because they had fed his fears and introduced new ways of suffering in his weakened state. After the short discussion he had with the King about the nature of his crimes, he was to remain in the land for his own good, and while Asgard would have provided for him, defend him from this torturous enemy, he knew his stay would only endanger those around him even more. With the Tesseract in their hands and another coveted artefact in their possession only time could tell when they would receive the brunt of the power-hungry warlord's schemes to possess the items. And if he couldn't get the both artefacts out of the realm, then he might as well wait it out some place he'd least likely be.

Staring up the inky night sky, he marvelled at the structure that stood tall over him, only being able to admire it now for the first time since the battle. He walked gingerly towards the back and felt a surge of reprieve when he saw one familiar person making his way to the private entry way.

He sauntered over and rubbed his head on the pant leg and looked up at the man with his green, cat eyes shining, "Meow!"

Bruce Banner had no inkling of suspicion when he picked up the cat with the shiny dark coat and brought it back with him into the Tower.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Yes! A Loki-centric chapter! Didn't see that coming, did you?

Thanks again for those who followed, faved and reviewed. I love you guys! Thanks for the support, yadda, yadda, yadda~ oh, cookies! They should be there by now. Any moment now. Heheh.

Like the usual guys, fave, review, follow, stalk, and monitor! Because we have Nifleheim cookies and Hel-baked cupcakes, that's why!


	5. Saving Sergeant Barnes

**Disclaimer:** I. Am. A. Fangirl! Yes, I don't own Marvel…

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Saving Sergeant Barnes

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><p>Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff got their equipment ready to the journey ahead. Slipping into gear, the Russian assassin wore black form-fitting combat pants and knee high boots, paired off with a white tank top over one of Stark's bullet proof slim vests that didn't get in the way of her movements, and a black leather jacket, opting to go slightly inconspicuous without the trademark Black Widow suit. Steve, on the other hand was mulling over Natasha's point with going incognito and foregoing the Captain America suit. Her point was that although the Avengers were safe thanks to Tony Stark's legion of high-priced lawyers, military, and political influence, who knows what would happen once they stalk off near the borders and play hide-and-seek-hunt with HYDRA's former secret soldier.<p>

Finally deciding that Natasha was right, Steve wore a generic Black-Ops combat suit and had his shield inside a knapsack on his back. If they were going on a wild goose chase and end up being on the wrong end of the fence, they at least knew not to bring the others down with them.

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><p>When they were making last minute checks of their gears, Clint bounded off where Natasha and Steve were huddled discussing the coordinates on the screen of Natasha's Stark Industries issued StarkPad.<p>

"You're really gonna trust her?" Clint asked pointedly.

"It's the best lead we got," Natasha answered without looking up.

Clint huffed an indignant sigh before walking over one of the couches, sitting himself low and arms spread over the back and the arm rest. He didn't trust Hela because she was related to Loki, plain and simple. And the fact that she resembles him oh-so-unnervingly, he couldn't help but feel his skin prickle at the sight of her. And the way she was being vague about her reasons for helping Steve find his old pal didn't sit too well with the archer. Although Thor was vouching for his niece's credibility, he just can't quite feel good about it. Concerned for his teammates as he may be, he kept his face a mask of nonchalance; he knew he couldn't strongly oppose them, they wouldn't understand. He could still feel him in his head – it felt as if at any time, he's gonna break and he's gonna do horrific things to his friends with his mind being controlled by someone else.

Closing his eyes shut, Hela and Thor arrived at the lounge area where they found Steve and Natasha making preparations, and Clint idly sitting by in one of the couches. Thor missed the haunted look in Clint's face as he passed him while he made his way towards his cupboard of Midgardian sweet treats. Hela on the other hand had seen and felt his trepidation in her presence to know he didn't trust her completely, if not at all.

Moving silently to his left behind him, she rested arms over the back of the couch and leaned down so her head was level to his as she spoke softly, "You're going to have to trust me."

Startled, Clint narrowed his eyes and looked at her sideways. She was smiling amusedly while watching Steve and Natasha, and the way she looked at them was something akin to anticipation; she was definitely hiding something, "I don't usually trust people who can sneak behind my back unnoticed."

"Noted, but you still have to trust me," She replied. He noticed the lack of Asgardian flourish in her words, though she did keep an accent, English, very refined.

"What happens if I don't?"

Hela made a soft giggling sound, getting up from her leaning position at the back of the couch before leaving towards Natasha and Steve, but not before giving Clint a soft admonishing grin.

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><p>"They already left?" Bruce asked as he made it back from his short walk – avoiding the stress that is Tony Stark who kept making crude comments about him and their guest, resulting in a near Hulk out if he hadn't decided he preferred talking a short work in rush-hour New York than to stay indoors and tolerate Tony's antics. And boy was it hitting right on the marks.<p>

"Yep, 'bout two hours ago," Tony replied casually, "Went with the other Bird Guy."

Bruce simply nodded his head, knowing that it was Sam Wilson that Tony meant. The guy had been somewhat staying with them since the incident in D.C. and had been helping the Captain located his friend. Walking past them, Bruce proceeded into the other side of the kitchen to make some tea, and also procured a small ceramic bowl from one of the cupboards to pour some milk into to his new found friend. Bruce smiled to himself in fond memory, remembering how the cat purred in his arm and quickly dozed off to sleep. He left him in his room to be fed later.

Thor was happily helping himself to some jelly donuts, muttering with a mouthful, "These treats, I like them!"

Tony piped up and gave him a toothy grin, "Yup! They're the best. Next to shawarma. Hey, can we get shawarma?"

Bruce groaned audibly and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Tony, how can you even think of shawarma right now, especially with all those food on the counter. Where did they come from?!"

Looking to the counter laden food of different assortments, Bruce saw six boxes of donuts, five giant pizza boxes, different pastries whose some names he can't even pronounce if he tried, and bags and bags of greasy fast-food. And there was also a stack of pre-made fresh salad from the organic deli from a few blocks down, and cartons of exotic, and probably expensive teas.

Bruce walked over to examine them and saw a noted taped on top of one of the salad containers which read: 'I heard the good Doctor only eats rabbit food. I hope this is alright'. And had a smiley face on it, along with other doodly characters.

"They're from Hela," Tony replied, wiggling his eyebrows at Bruce who he saw reading the note, "If this is some sort of alien courtship ritual, then I'm not complaining."

Bruce rolled his eyes and turned to Thor instead, "Is there any reason why your niece keeps giving us food?"

"I do not know Friend Banner," Thor replied after a bite of French pasty, "As I have said, neither of us has seen each other in a very long time."

"What's that about, Point-Break? Not seeing each other and all," Tony asked with piqued curiosity.

Thor swallowed his mouthful before responding, "She was banished, as well as her brothers. At one point, though I do not recall when it, speaking their names had been considered taboo amongst the Æsir."

"Wow, you Asgardians really take your banishment seriously, huh," Tony quipped before seeing the reprimanding look Bruce was giving him.

"What about Loki? She seems pretty concerned about him," Bruce asked instead.

"Aye, my brother loves his children truly, and so do they in turn," Thor began, "Hela was the last to be separated from him, and she was the one most severely ripped away to serve as Nifleheim and Hel's one, true ruler."

"You mean she hasn't seen him since?"

"Unfortunately," The Thunderer answered truthfully, sadness evident in his voice.

The room fell into silence after that, the only sounds to be heard was the occasional chewing and clinking of utensils as they had their fill of their meals.

Clint, who had been lying in the rafters the entire time softened up towards the strange woman, but not entirely. He still didn't trust her.

* * *

><p>Steve, Natasha and Sam were closing in on the target; judging by the progress in distance since they received the tracker, it appears that the Winter Soldier was travelling by foot, in some unnamed road in Sinclair, Maine. They figured the soldier was trying to make it out of the border, from what they've concluded on his moves since he was last spotted in D.C.<p>

With any luck, and they sure felt lucky – and if Hela wasn't lying or setting up a trap for them, then they may just be able to gain in on Bucky.

* * *

><p>"Okay, we're a good five miles out from where he is," Natasha spoke, turning to look at Steve and Sam from behind, "you know the drill."<p>

Sam first took off to confirm if the target really was in the area. The sound of his voice over the intercom confirmed the Winter Soldier's location. The breath Steve had been holding since receiving the packet was finally released into a sigh of relief. This was the first solid lead they had on Bucky and no one's going to stop him from making sure he comes back with him, with or without his consent. He's not about to let his friend live his life in misery without recollection of his past – no, Steve wouldn't have that. Bucky had always been there for him, now it was time for him to do the same.

They knew that he didn't expect them, but they were prepared for the worst possible scenario in case this mission blows over. Natasha kept the Quinjet in stealth mode, closing in on the site with Steve and Sam flying off into their positions.

Half a mile away from the target, Steve jumped off the Quinjet in a parachute; he never liked the floaty thing, but he wouldn't let his distaste get in the way of him now. The chute getting caught on the high branches of the trees where he landed Steve unfastened the straps over his chest and shot down on the ground in a forward roll. He was close, but the rustling up ahead indicated that the soldier was now feeling his surroundings. Steve held his breath once again and steadily let flow out of his mouth in one calming huff. Getting on his feet, he made a mad dash towards Bucky and used the propulsion of his speed to leap on the side trunk of a tree and charged down Bucky with the force of his weight and slammed down hard on his friend.

When the Winter Soldier got to his bearings, he swung a blow to Steve's face and forcefully kicked him in the gut and had a run for the other direction. Steve alerted of his moves quickly called over Falcon over the comms and the man dove down, the metal wings folding into his back as he landed on a crouch and started to rain a barrage of bullets towards the soldier, making him run towards their desired location.

"Okay Nat," Steve called over to his ear piece, "It's your turn."

Nodding to each other, Steve started to give chase while Sam flew back up into the air, making sure that the target stays in position.

As soon as the Winter Soldier got to the clearing, he was welcomed by more gunshots courtesy of Natasha from the Quinjet as she disabled the retro-reflective panels, revealing her position to the now cornered target, and before the Winter Soldier could retaliate, Sam flew swiftly behind him and injected him with a high dozed tranquilizer courtesy of Bruce Banner.

* * *

><p>It was a quiet ride back to the Tower as Natasha and Sam manned Quinjet in front, Steve minding Bucky who was still knocked out – secured to a gurney with re-enforced straps keeping him for escaping should he come to before they make it to the Tower.<p>

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Yup, another chapter and it hasn't been 12 hours yet! You know the drill guys! Show me some love, please~?


	6. Say My Name

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Marvel or the Avengers, hah, that'll be the day. Hahah.

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><p><strong>Chapter<strong> 5

Say My Name

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><p>The following day, Hela was sitting inside a conference room, hearing a meeting with the board directors of the company about a new business venture in the works – in other words, she was having a rather dull and boring day in the life in the shoes of Helena Lieschmidt, CEO of Lieschmidt Enterprise – the world's premier medical and pharmaceutical enterprise that spans the entire globe. It's ironic and unheard of, considering who she is and what she does, but it became a funny inside joke between her and her brothers and it didn't really matter much what they did on the side job. Plus, she gets to hit the Hell-Lords of Midgard where it hurts whenever a life is saved thanks for their advanced medical treatments – at least for the moment.<p>

But today, her Midgardian hobby and entertainment was riling her up on the inside; she'd rather be out there following leads to her father's whereabouts but instead, she was stuck there for another hour or so hearing old men and women bicker about inconsequential things.

Things were so heated up in the room; she knew one of them would fall into cardiac arrest later in the day – stress being a factor, but more like an excuse since he was to die that day, whether he liked it or not. She made a mental note to have her assistant send flowers and her regards at the funeral.

With a swing of her chair, she looked away from the rest and deigned to work and study the figures on the screen and drowned out the noise in the room so she can do some real work.

Last night, the Captain's team were able to retrieve the Winter Soldier and she was itching to leave the conference room and pay the Avengers a visit, but showing signs of being too overeager would put her at a disadvantage with her plans up ahead.

While it would've been easy for her to get the soldier herself, she needed a way to get into the good graces of her father's enemies; and while she could have just simply told them her plans, Thor couldn't back up the information she has because he was completely and utterly clueless about everything that's going on in his immediate surroundings, as always.

But if she wants to get results, she'll have to come out clean with them.

* * *

><p>Bruce and Tony were busy in the Tower's medical bay. It had been three days since Steve, Natasha and Sam came home with an unconscious HYDRA assassin, and since then, they've been round the clock checking his vitals and studying the lab results on his altered physiology.<p>

From what they read in the file Hela sent them, the Winter Soldier mostly stayed in cryogenic sleep whenever he wasn't out on a mission. Bruce deduced that due to this, his physical body, though enhanced by the super soldier serum created by HYDRA was having a relapse hence why he has been in catatonic state since his arrival. This was only proven further by account of Steve and the others when they encountered the soldier. When they engaged him, he was out of focus during the fight that it had been almost too easy for them to nab him; too easy which meant neither of them suffered an injury unlike their first encounter.

Bruce cleared his throat to get Tony's attention who was almost to his knees getting a close look at the Winter Soldier's cybernetic arm.

"You ever wonder where the hell got all these?" Tony broke the silence and gestured towards the files he was re-reading.

Looking back from where he was taking notes from the results, Bruce responded, "Why don't you ask her when she comes in. She said she'll be dropping by soon."

"She did?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, uh, she," Bruce pretended to be busy scanning the screen to avoid Tony's glare, "Uh, she texted me."

"She texted you. Hela texted you?"

Bruce could feel Tony's stare burning the back of his head, and he could practically feel, no, he knew Tony was grinning ear to ear and was walking up towards him judging by the shuffling sounds coming closer from behind.

"I'm uh, going to get more tea," Bruce got up but was immediately sat down by Tony just as fast.

"Something you wanna tell me?"

Tony's curious tone made Bruce pinch the bridge of his nose, and the next thing he knew, Tony had already took off towards the elevators with something of his.

* * *

><p><p>

From the moans of exasperation and helplessness coming at them in booming yells and screeching laughter, Natasha knew the so-called Science Bros were at it again. Feeling a headache coming on if she stayed anywhere near where the commotion was gonna end up, she got off the bar stool, grabbed her mug of piping hot coffee, walked over to one of the couches and sat down with the others while watching TV.

Like the overgrown man-child that they were, Tony zipped past the main longue with Bruce hot on his tail. Tony was skidding on the floor singing, "Brucey has Hela sitting on a tree!"

To which Bruce cried, "Urgh, Tony!"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Tony was giggling like a little girl when he rounded the corner of the kitchen, catching his breath and sliding to the floor while he tried to unlock Bruce's phone which he snatched from the Doctor's desk a while ago when he refused to give him any answers. Too busy laughing to get the phone unlocked, Bruce managed to get the phone back and secured it inside his pockets and gave Tony an irritated glare – which, Tony could've sworn he saw some green in them.

"Hey, hey, no need to be man Big Guy," Tony said in between awkward throaty laughs, "I just wanted to know what you and Miss Lieschmidt had been talking about."

Bruce was about to berate Tony for being an overgrown man-child when he heard Natasha clear her throat. Automatically, the two geniuses turned their gazes at the main lounge where Natasha was huddled in one of the couches on the far right, overlooking the kitchen with a very sneaky, very knowing smirk gracing her lips – with Thor on the floor with ear buds on while assumingly looked like he was watching something on a StarkPad, and to his left, sitting on the couch with her body crouched where she was operating the gadget in Thor's hand, Hela was looking at them amusedly.

"Uh, hello ladies," Tony grinned at them and Bruce covered half his face with one hand, the other giving them a small wave.

"You're lucky you don't have to live with two numb nuts geniuses," Natasha said, addressing Hela without breaking eye contact with Tony and Bruce.

To this, Hela chuckled and gave the two a fond, sarcastic smile and retorted, "On the contrary, I do…"

By that time, Thor had finished watching the Nyan Cat video and was able to catch Natasha's quip and Hela's reply. He furrowed his brows, not exactly knowing what had transpired and was absolutely lost on why the two women had such looks on their faces.

Just then, Steve Rogers, followed by Sam Wilson and Clint were purposefully making their way towards them.

"Miss Lieschmidt? Hela, we have a few questions for you," Hela could see the determination in the Captain's blue eyes, if not for the small hesitation in his addressing her. She'll have to repair that later too, "So if you'd please follow us to the briefing room?"

Hela straightened up from her see, a placating smile gracing her beautiful face, "Already?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I'll follow this up soon enough. I would've continued on with the interrogation in his chapter, but I felt like it needed a standalone chapter on its own.

Anyways, please don't forget to show me some love by reviewing, fave'ing and following. Sweet Hel-made treats for those who will!


	7. Lie To Me

**Disclaimer:** Yep, don't own Marvel, or the Avengers.

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Lie To Me

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><p>After humouring the Captain by letting them lead her out, they road an elevator going down the basement level of the Avengers Tower. She was escorted by Captain America and the other two men into the farthest room in the hallway and from there, the Clint and the other person stood aside to usher in Steve and Hela inside the room. It was a large, spacious room that had a long table and two chairs sitting opposite each other; it was a tell-tall interrogation room, minus the glass partition – but knowing that Stark doesn't do conventional, she knew that there were cameras installed at every angle for the audiences view.<p>

She was guided to a chair, as was predicted and they asked her permission to attach some equipment to her. They put on a metal band at the back of her head, with two diodes planted at her temples, two wireless diodes to each of her wrist and one of each pads of her fingers which had the similar glowing blue center.

Having checked that the equipment was up and running, Clint and Sam nodded at the Captain and made their quick exit. After that, they joined the rest of the Avengers in the next room where Tony was making some final adjustments on his computer, Natasha seated in front of one of the screens, monitoring the various data, with Bruce and Thor leaning against the wall.

* * *

><p>"Is this going to work?" Steve asked as he entered the room.<p>

"Hundred percent," Stark replied dismissively, "Fury sent me the original sometime after the HYDRA incident. Let's just say this baby can measure galvanic skin response, oxygen consumption, microexpressions, biofeedback, brainwaves, pupil dilation, and voice biometrics, without the bulk."

"Fury got the first made with Nat in mind," Clint gave the Black Widow a look and smirked.

Natasha lifted the corner of her lip in return and gave everyone a proud look before turning her attention towards the massive wall screen where it showed Hela in the interrogation room, "I'm up. I'll see you boys later.

* * *

><p>It had been at least seven minutes since the men exited the room and Hela was quite getting bored. When she heard a click from the door, she smiled when she saw the redheaded assassin walk towards the other chair, a StarkPad in hand, and took a seat in front of her.<p>

"Comfortable?" Natasha asked, not in the least concerned whether Hela was or not.

Hela knew it was a question as hollow as an empty cardboard box, so she shrugged and said, "I've had worse."

"I'll be asking you a couple of questions, some of them random, to gauge if you're a hostile or not," The Black Widow finally making eye contact.

The goddess breathed a soft chuckle and returned her gaze, "So you saved the theatrics like you did my father and put me on Lie Detector instead? How fun. By all means, ask away Black Widow."

Natasha felt a nerve tick at the way Hela enunciated every word, but she dismissed it and gave the woman her best Black Widow look – expression blank and unreadable.

"First question – what is your first and last name?"

"Hela Lokisdóttir," Hela answered truthfully.

Natasha now had her StarkPad propped up on the table, so she can switch between monitoring her vitals and analysing Hela on her own, "Second – yes or no answer. Are you Loki's biological daughter?"

"Yes," Hela smiled.

No changes in her vitals so far, Natasha continued, "Third, you can response to this freely. Thor said you love your father. Love equals to loyalty. Do you mean to take revenge on the Avengers for your father's defeat?"

"Not at all," This time she was honest. "My father was under duress at that time, so I can't avenge him for something he has done devoid of his own free will."

Natasha quirked a brow at her and studied her expression at every point and for a brief moment she saw her face break out of its impassive state and she saw sadness in Hela's eyes before the woman before her regained her composure. She wasn't expecting that answer at all, and according to what she witnessed and her vitals on the screen, she wasn't lying.

"Loki died in battle according to Thor," Natasha began, "But a few days ago, you said he's gone missing without a trace, and when Thor told you he hasn't seen Loki, you simply went up and left. So tell me, is Loki dead, or alive?

"He's alive," Hela replied and didn't make a move to elaborate any further.

"How sure are you?"

"Sure enough to risk going here," Hela quipped and frowned at the woman before her, "I know it makes no sense, I would persuade you to have Thor go back to Asgard to validate my words but I highly doubt the All-Father would give him answers, let alone have him come back here on Midgard. I have many reasons for my being here; one of them was retrieving the Winter Soldier."

* * *

><p>"Wait, what could she possibly need from Capsicle's buddy?" Tony looked at Thor questioningly and just as quickly after seeing Thor's expression, waved his hand off saying, "Don't say it. You don't know, you haven't seen her in ages."<p>

"I guess we're about to find out why she had those HYDRA files," Bruce looked at Tony and Steve before they stared back at the screen at Natasha's questioning words.

* * *

><p>"About that," Natasha followed up, "How did you get your hands on his files and the tracker?"<p>

"I called in some favours," Hela smiled confidently.

"That doesn't answer the question."

"It doesn't matter, it's not as if naming my contacts would be in any way beneficial to you, nor be made available to any of you by any way of means," She inclined her head slightly to the side and found Natasha's raised brow amusing, "It also wouldn't make sense."

"Just answer the question," By now there was a coat of threat in the Black Widow's voice.

"Alexandre Pierce."

"What?" Natasha looked lost for a moment.

"You heard me, Black Widow," Hela teased.

"He's dead," Natasha stated. Now this, she wasn't expecting at all. If she was any other person, she would've lost it, but she is the Black Widow and this is what she does.

"I didn't say he's not," Hela rested her chin over her interlaced fingers, "I told you it wouldn't make any sense, but you read the Norse Myths, I'm sure you can figure it out."

Natasha nodded her head in understanding, "What do you need the Winter Soldier for?"

"Information," Hela responded with ease, "Pierce wasn't at all helpful, but he did tell me the Winter Soldier was my best shot to find what I was looking for."

"Loki?"

"No," Hela shook her head, then chuckled, "The 'Glow Stick of Destiny'."

"What would you need Loki's sceptre for," Natasha asked, "And you said you only came here looking for Loki? Are you having a slip now, Miss Lieschmidt?"

"To completely undo the effects of the mind control," Hela answered, taking on a look of seriousness, "And it's not a slip, I simply didn't want to bombard you all with information."

"And this is tied to the Winter Soldier how?"

"As you know, SHIELD kept all the remains of alien tech and weapons which were left after the Battle of New York, which included the sceptre," The device hasn't made a peep whether Hela was lying or not, and Natasha could only keep her under scrutiny as Hela continued on with her words, "SHIELD's gone, the sceptre unaccounted for, HYDRA is my best guess where it's at."

"Then why make us go after him when you could've done so yourself?"

"I needed a way in," Hela looked Natasha straight in the eyes, "The Battle of New York was just the tip of the iceberg. If the sceptre is what I think it is, then Midgard is in grave danger, and so is my father."

"But can we trust you?" Natasha leaned back in her chair, done with the questioning.

"If I tell you my answer to question number two was a lie, would you trust me?"

Natasha muttered a curse in Russian and Hela giggled in response. She'll have to address that lie one of these days.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Yes, I will address that little sneaky secret in the end in one of the upcoming chapters. If you have any guesses, leave it up for the reviews.

Also, I'm planning a little "date" chapter for Hela and Bruce, they need some alone time so I'll appreciate any suggestions.

Like always, don't forget to review, fave or follow! We're already setting up a bakeshop in Nifleheim and we're generous enough to give free cakes for those who'll leave me some lovin'. Heheh.


	8. It's Complicated

**Disclaimer:** Stan Lee is god, and I still don't own any of these guys!

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

It's Complicated

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><p>After leaving the interrogation room, Hela and Natasha went back to the penthouse lounge in complete silence – neither of them spoke during the elevator ride back up, but it wasn't because they were having a stand-off, or were having hostile feelings against each other. It was a silence that more or less signifies understanding, not entirely trust, but Natasha felt that isolating off the other woman would mean more trouble than it was worth.<p>

By the time they reached the floor, they found the men sitting idly in various across the expanse of the lounging area. Hela gave them a soft smile and promptly headed to where Tony was sitting and held out her hand without greeting – her smile fading into a black stare.

"I'd like to have my phone back," She intoned bluntly.

"Say 'Please'," Tony raised a brow and gave her a teasing grin.

Hela rolled her eyes and drew her hand back to flick Tony's forehead. She walked away without a word and went to sit next to Thor who had an extremely brooding face, his body crouched and his arms resting on his legs. Tony, who had just regained his usual composure after Hela flicked his forehead winced after he frowned at her, growled loudly, "What the fuck?"

He went to touch the area with his forefinger and winced again, muttering another curse word, and scrambled to his feet to dash for the floor to ceiling glass panes overlooking the city. Scrunching his eyes to study his reflection, he cried out, "I have a zit."

Everyone turned their heads to where Tony was standing as he faced them, pointing at the huge, red, very swollen zit on his forehead, "I have a fucking zit the size of Manhattan on my forehead. A fucking zit! What the fuck?!"

Hela shrugged, "I asked you nicely."

Tony was baffled and took long striding steps towards her, "That wasn't asking nicely. And this wasn't nice either!"

"I don't know Stark, it's a good look on you," Natasha said amusedly.

Everyone was beginning to snicker at him now, some not even remotely discreet when Clint piped in, "I gotta agree with Nat, it grows on you."

"Yeah Tony, I really think it's growing on you," Bruce didn't help Tony's case at all and decided to jump in with the rest.

"No! There will be no more growing!" Tony stomped his foot and glared at the trio, "Or bad puns. Get rid of this, now!"

His last words were directed at Hela and she didn't know whether it was a command or a plea, but judging Tony's glowing red face, Hela decided it was the latter and she gave him a long, considering look before she lifted the corner of her lip into a playful smirk and said, "Only if you say 'Please'."

"What? No!" Tony cried in outrage, "I asked you that earlier and you gave me a fucking zit!"

"I wasn't the one rummaging through anyone's purse for a phone," Hela countered, "Tell me, you found anything you like?"

This time Tony groaned and turned his head to the side, "Please."

"What was that Mister Stark?" Hela was enjoying this very much, "I didn't catch that, did anyone of you heard what he said?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Please. I said please."

"Please what?" Hela egged him on.

"Please get rid of this fucking zit, please." Tony grumbled insincerely, but Hela thought it was enough and decided to end his misery and made a small gesture of her hand, to which her phone appeared from thin air the same time Tony's zit disappeared.

Everyone looked on, impressed that Hela got Tony to do something, earning their respect.

* * *

><p>The day went on uneventfully after the Tony incident. They decided to invite Hela over for dinner which she gladly accepted.<p>

Surprisingly, Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers were both great cooks and she very much delighted in the meal they served. They all made small talk with each other, avoiding any pressing matter to be dished out on the dinner table. Hela found their company rather refreshing, though it was a little strained due to her questionable intents, she was still thankful to have gone this far. But despite the amiable aura permeating the air, she could feel Clint eye her suspiciously. She didn't fault him for that, instead felt a sense of understanding from where he was getting the hostility towards her.

After the Chitauri invasion, she made it a point to keep an eye on those who went under her father's mind control and sadly, only a handful survived. The effects were strong and even after undergoing various cognitive recalibration processes, most couldn't live through the guilt and shame of what they'd done and had gone into insanity, some taking their lives out of misery. But she knew better – those who fell under control suffered through the after effects of the sceptre's power, addling their minds to the brink, and she could only guess what kinds of horror they could see when they put their guards down and let the power take over their minds in a frenzy of violent recollections of all things horrific.

She only knew a fraction of its power, but it was enough for her to grow extremely concerned for all of them, her father most especially. It was already a feat in itself that it was able to take control of her father who had one too many layers of protection magic about him, and she vehemently refuses to believe that he willingly let it take over – there were too many tell-tale signs of his struggle, not to mention the many holes in his plot to take over Midgard. He was a very careful person, strategy and tactics were his best suits and that was enough to let her know something was wrong.

After dessert was served, they all decided to take it in the living room and they sat around enjoying the rich, molten chocolate lava cake that Bruce made.

Hela noticed that Thor was the last to finish his dessert and he had pretty much feigned his enjoyment throughout the meal that she couldn't help it anymore.

"Uncle, if you have something, anything to tell me, I believe you should tell me now before your involvement," Hela had her head down as she placed the ramekin down on the coffee table when she lifted her eyes up to look at the others through her lashes, "All your involvement into this. I would understand it if you refuse me your assistance, I just didn't have that many options…"

Silence again. They've been doing that a lot for the past few hours, looking at each other, letting the stillness of the room consume them, "I don't make a habit of humbling myself to others, but this is something I'd willingly do just to see my father safe."

Thor opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, his hands balling into fists.

Hela sighed and decided this would go nowhere until she speaks up, and so she took a deep breath and straightened back in her seat.

"We Asgardians are very long lived," She began, not necessarily talking to anyone in particular, "I could only guess how painful it had been for my father when he found out his existence was not wanted, the building blocks of which were founded in lies. We grew up in contempt of monsters, of stories where the Asgardians slayed those monsters and mother's using said monsters to scare children into behaving themselves otherwise those monsters would creep out from the dark and eat them…"

Each of the Avengers had a faraway look on their faces, but had their ears to her nonetheless, Thor on the other hand sitting tensely beside Hela, his arms resting on his legs again as he looked at the floor in deep thought once again.

"Frost Giants were one of those monsters, if not the scariest monsters that had children screaming at night in an unfounded fear that they would somehow spring up from nowhere and take them to their icy realm," Her thoughtful face was replaced by mirth when she recollected a fond memory, probably a story for some other time and she continued, "Nevertheless, they were the evil that threatens the peace. I believe Odin also told you the same tales, which my father told us in turn, without the scary theatrics. He was a good man, and I still believe that he is. He was a very kind and nurturing father, and he was the same to you too, Uncle, you just fail to see all the things he's done for you in the past."

"He's killed many," Was Thor's reply.

"And so did you," Hela sighed, "We all have blood in our hands."

"He killed a lot of innocent people," Clint shot at Hela, and the goddess gave him a sad, apologetic look.

"I know," She breathed, "But faulting him while he was under duress, though still a theory for now, is not right. I know you hate him, I see it in your eyes every time you look at me, and any sort of apology from me won't appease you until you finally have it out with my father, but I'm here to set things straight."

"But how sure are you that Loki is alive," Bruce asked this time, his voice low and unwavering as he locked gazes with Hela, "This could be a wild goose chase, you could be chasings ghosts for all you know."

"Chasings ghosts won't be a problem at all," Hela allowed herself a real smile for the doctor, "I'm certain because my brother's and I are connected to him. I did mention earlier that I'm not his biological daughter, did I not?"

Bruce nodded and had a very curious, quizzical look on his face.

"My brother's and I were not born nor procreated through physical means," Hela explained, "We were created by magic, simply put. While we do not share his blood, we are bonded by something much stronger. And since having left his side, I always kept a close eye on my father, the same with my brothers."

Hela saw the knotted brows of the two scientific geniuses and shook her head, "It's complicated."

Thor still had that brooding look on his face and Hela patted his shoulder. She hasn't talked about her father with anyone outside of her family, and while she hadn't poured her entire mind and heart to it, she could feel the tug on her and she felt she needed her space and bid her goodbyes. She promised them she'd be back in the next coming days to help ease the Winter Soldier's memories, which can be easily done with her magic, much to Tony's chagrin.

She planted a soft kiss on Thor's head a good night and whispered, "Please have faith in him…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I think I might've left two little surprises there, which I'll unfold in the next coming chapters.

And Loki!Cat should be making an appearance soon, I promise! Until then, keep reading, reviewing, following, fave'ing and the works! Love y'all~!


	9. Mutual Exchanges

**Disclaimer:** I'm just a fangirl doing fangirly things. I don't own any of these guys.

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

Mutual Exchanges

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><p>It was the third day since Captain America and his team retrieved Bucky and they kept him under sedation under Hela's orders, having visited them the day before after the interrogation. Hela didn't expect them to be receptive of her intentions, but she was glad she was finally getting some real work done and her plans into motion.<p>

Late in the afternoon the day before, she dropped by the Avengers Tower to check up on the Winter Soldier who was still unconscious, which had been a good thing. She needed him unconscious to weave in the threads of the spell she casted to piece back the puzzles of his past and memories which had been tampered and suppressed by his captor's machinations. The process done to him had no contest against her magic and had been an easy feat for her, which was so unlike what seized her father Loki, Clint Barton and Erik Selvig. Soon enough when the Winter Soldier's psyche had been repaired, she can proceed with the rest.

It was past three in the morning when she received the call from Bruce Banner that the Winter Soldier had regained consciousness.

"Doctor Banner, Captain Rogers," Hela entered the medical bay and greeted them solemnly, purposefully making her way to them.

"Good uh, morning," Bruce acknowledged, a small smile on his lips the moment he saw her come in, "He's been in and out of consciousness since I called."

"Is he going to be alright?" Steve asked hopefully, watching his friend closely as he stood by the end of the bed.

"Don't worry, he will be," She smiled at him reassuringly.

Hela darted her gaze back towards the soldier, her eyes glowing different shades of jade and emerald, Bruce couldn't figure out if it was the light in the room or if it was just the way her eyes looked once you actually look at it in carefully, and either way, he found it very beautiful and captivating. It wasn't until his breath hitched that he realized he had been staring for too long, and that now those two beautiful pair were now looking right at him, an unreadable, yet kind look staring at him.

"Uh, uhm, should we, uh," Bruce tried to collect himself and took a few steps towards the machine that administered the sedative in Bucky's system, gesturing awkwardly, "Decrease the amount?"

Hela nodded, walking past Bruce and typed in the amounts and intervals, "Twenty-five percent reduction every hour. The sedative burns easily in his system, so he should enter deep, regular sleep by the seventy-fifth mark."

"Do you know when he'll wake up again?"

Studying Steve's expression for a moment, Hela felt relief to see the trust he vested in her care for his friend. She gave him a warm smile and walked over to him, squeezing his hand for support and comfort, "He should wake up before noon with an appetite big enough to eat an entire cow, so brace yourself."

"Thank you," She heard Steve say.

"Don't thank me," She responded, "I have my own agenda and this just happens to be one of the steps to see it through."

Hela averted her gaze back to the still sleeping soldier and followed the traces of magic weaving in and out, repairing his tortured him and piecing it back together. She felt the tug in her heart and was happy she could help, despite her own personal goals.

* * *

><p>Bruce invited Hela to come up the common floor and fix themselves some breakfast, which she gladly accepted. Steve insisted on staying with Bucky, promising to come up later. The two knew that Captain America wouldn't – he'd wait until his friend wakes up, wanting to be the first one there when he regains consciousness; Bruce and Hela understood as much and just happily walked towards the elevators and up the lounge area and kitchen.<p>

When they got to the floor, Hela found an oddly shaped lump draped over the couch and only when she came closer to scrutinize the weird figure did she know that it was Tony Stark sprawled unconscious, a glass of whiskey left spilling over the nearby coffee table, a suspicious looking white substance peppered over the dark surface.

"Pepper," Bruce offered, "She probably found out he hasn't slept in days and drugged him to sleep. Again."

Raised brows and a nod of understanding passed over Hela's beautiful features as she followed Bruce into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Bruce fixed them both a serving of French Toast and sat on the stools in the counter, Hela cradling a mug of piping hot espresso, with generous amounts of cream and some sugar, while Bruce stuck to his favourite herbal tea blend.<p>

Bruce broke the silence, his tone a little apologetic, "I hope I didn't wake you, earlier, I mean."

"Not at all," Hela replied, eyes loosely focused on the mug, "I don't really sleep."

"You don't?" Bruce countered after a sip of his tea.

"I don't necessarily need it," She shrugged, "And I hate to admit, but sleeping had been more of a nuisance for me than a relief."

"Nightmares?"

"Not exactly," She ran her finger over the top edges of the mug, "But I tend to dream about the time when I still lived on Asgard with my father and my brother's, and it's too painful…"

Bruce had been watching Hela in the corner of his eyes and with her revelation, he turned his attention fully to her – her face etched with sadness and marred with longing, and somehow, through this he's seen her wizened years through her clouded eyes in memory. Her physical state denoted she was years younger than he was, likely around her early twenties, but having an understanding of the Asgardians longevity, he knew she was ancient and had lived to see many things in her long, almost undying years. Try as he might, he couldn't fathom the gravity of her grief reflected in her eyes.

"Is it true? About the Norse Myths," Bruce found the words were out of his mouth before he had himself braced for her reaction. He mentally kicked himself in the knees, berating himself, knowing now that Tony had been rubbing off on him until her heard the slight, soft laughter escape her lips.

"The myths are a varying and has many stories to tell," Hela turned to him, a brow raised in humour, "You're going to be have to more specific."

Bruce felt the heat rush to his head, he hadn't realized the stools were too close seated and he was now face to face with such an alluring beauty. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose on impulse, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I…"

"I will answer any question you have," Hela enunciated teasingly, her eyes bereft of its grief and took on a glimmering shade of mischief, "But you will have to give me something in exchange."

Bruce was a little lost, his heart pounding in his chest in panic and excitement as Hela drew closer, her unusually green eyes boring into his deep brown eyes, her luscious lips soon going into focus – his mind tinkering on the thought of how soft they would feel, her scent wafting into his nose, reminiscent of vanilla.

He could feel her hot breath on the side of his neck, her hand over his shoulder for support as she whispered her favour in his ear.

Hela was already positioned properly on her seat when Tony got up abruptly, blinking his sleepy eyes at the two figure seated by the breakfast counter, one bespectacled man as red as a tomato.

* * *

><p>Bruce was back in his room after Hela left for her morning appointments. He never thought things would go from zero to fifty for him in the span of a few hours.<p>

According to Hela, Bucky would come to soon and he decided to lay down and sleep for a bit until then – surely Steve would call for him if the soldier was conscious. But because of Hela, Bruce found himself alert and very awake. He'd unwittingly said yes to her before he could weigh in his options, not that he regretted his choice.

With his heart beating rapidly, the last thoughts on Bruce's mind before he lost his bearings was 'Curiosity Killed the Cat', and certainly, he heard and saw a screeching black cat take cover away from him when he very suddenly Hulked out so early in that morning.

The entire Tower was on Hulk alert and everyone was pumping adrenaline before they even had their first cup of coffee.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Yes, this is a cliffhang ending! Because as Loki says, "I do what I want!".

And thanks to everyone who gave their moral support! I appreciate you all taking time to fave, follow, review and share your opinions via PM!

You know I update regularly, so please, keep on reading and don't forget to leave your love in the reviews. Love you guys so much!


	10. Pretty Lady

**Disclaimer:** The Avengers isn't mine. I wish, right?

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Pretty Lady

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><p>Tony Stark; genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, the man behind Iron Man, the face of Stark Industries, in denial alcoholic with prior bouts of PTSD, known eccentric, an Avenger, and occasional victim of drug induced care of his former personal assistant, turned girlfriend, CEO of Stark Industries was just about to enjoy his first sip of well-deserved caffeine when a deafening roar broke through the morning silence.<p>

"Sir, I would like to inform you that the Hulk has been unleashed," came JARVIS' crisp English voice.

Tony stared wide eyed in the vast expanse of the lounge area, the coffee mug he held aloft spilling coffee left and right with each tremor, "Yeah, no kidding."

Just then, Clint bust in from the nearby vent, his bow in hand, "What the fuck happened?"

"Dunno. JARVIS', where is the Hulk now?" Tony asked the AI immediately.

Before Tony's AI could respond, the Hulk smashed through the floors. Green sinewy muscles flexing as he looked at every corner before spotting Tony and Clint. Huffing a breath through his nose, he stomped off over the two Avengers caught unawares, the both of them preparing to meet their makers.

"Tin Man. Birdie."

Tony and Clint blinked, looking up at the Hulk as he easily towered over them. The Hulk didn't seem aggravated as usual and Tony felt himself relax, though Clint refused to put his guard down.

"Hi Big Guy," Tony grinned and resumed his spot on the barstool, "What's up?"

"Pretty lady, where?"

Knitting his brows, Tony took a sip of his coffee and thought for a moment, "We have a few pretty ladies here, which one?"

"New pretty lady."

The two puny heroes looked at each other in confusion, when Thor burst in from the hole the Hulk came up from, Mjölnir in his hand ready to strike and Natasha close by just outside the elevator doors, her Widow's Bite prepared to engage. Clint discreetly gestured for them to stand down, and reluctantly, the two recently arrived Avengers turned down their weapons.

"Jolly Green here is looking for a pretty lady," Tony filled in for the two, "Natasha?"

The flame-haired assassin shook her head, unsure what he meant. Steve was the last to come up, his shield protectively held up for defence.

As soon as Captain America got there, Hulk turned over to face him. The huge, hulking figure only clad in dark coloured slacks that threatened to rip further beyond decency.

"Flag Man," Hulk practically growled out, "Where pretty lady?"

Steve raised a brow, "Pretty lady? Hela?"

The Hulk grinned, showing a perfect set of teeth that bordered on sinister, but his green eyes showed otherwise as he nodded his head yes.

"Hela? She was here?!" Clint almost shouted, looking at each Avenger questioningly.

"She was, Bucky woke up a few hours ago and we, err, Bruce did," Steve explained. "What do you need from her Hulk?"

"Hulk want see pretty lady."

"This is interesting," Tony chimed in, "I think Big Green here has a crush on Reindeer Games' daughter."

Hulk huffed and grinned. Natasha looked on, a mix of shock and amusement in her face.

"This beast wishes to crush my niece?!" Thor suddenly boomed, brandishing Mjölnir yet again.

The big, green rage monster that is the Hulk walked threateningly around glaring at Thor, when suddenly Steve came in between. "No Thor, that's not what Tony meant."

Steve gave Tony a meaningful look, urging him to explain. Tony rolled his eyes and walked over to Thor, tapping him on the shoulder, "What I meant was…"

Tony grinned at the Hulk, then back at Thor, "Hulk here fancies your niece."

Thor dropped Mjölnir on the floor, mouth agape, "Odin's beard…"

Natasha cleared her throat, making the rest of the team look over to her, "Anyone care to explain why the Hulk is here in the first place?"

Everyone shook their heads no, not exactly knowing what happened.

Steve felt a push on his shoulder which made him stumble slightly and found the Hulk reaching out a forefinger in an attempt at a poke to get his attention, "Yes Hulk?"

"Pretty lady. Hulk want see too," Hulk had his brows knotted which made him look quite menacing, in a cute Hulk-y way, "Hulk want see Hela, like puny Banner."

"As Big Green's official wingman, I will call Hela," Tony flashed everyone a huge smile before giving Hulk a thumbs-up and a wink.

Fishing his phone out of his back pocket, Tony dialled her number.

* * *

><p>This time, it was Stark to call her about an emergency and told her to come up Stark Tower pronto. And that it was an order.<p>

For Earth's Mightiest heroes, the Avengers seemed like the jumpy types to her – having been called for an urgent matter in the span of a mere few hours. She didn't mind though, all was well in her realm and the day was mostly to be spent signing documents and attending a memorial for their recently deceased peer at her company. She would have transported straight for the tower if she wasn't in her car driving towards her office. Shifting the gears to reverse, she turned her car around the other way and dashed on to rush hour New York traffic, not sparing an ounce of speed.

* * *

><p>Riding the elevator to the common lounge floor, Hela held her coat in one arm, her right hand tapping her black leather clutch bag on her thigh as she rode the lift up to her desired floor.<p>

Hela was in her Helena Lieschmidt façade - the young, stylish Midgardian business magnate.

When she exited the doors, she was greeted by a huge gaping hole in the middle of the floor which wasn't present when she had been there earlier.

"Planning on redecorating, Stark?" She called out, and was greeted by the stunned expressions of Tony, Steve and Clint.

"Like what you see?" She teased. Hela wore her hair down, loose curls, and a side part that framed a small portion of her face on the left. The usual chic casual clothes gone, this time wearing a form fitting black dress, paired off with gold accessories and lethal looking gold high heels. Tilting her head to the side, she asked finally, "What's the emergency?"

"Someone's here and very eager to see you," Tony replied almost too happily which she responded to with a curious, "Oh?"

Heavy footsteps soon followed and Hela stepped out further into view and was met with a very huge, curiously green person. Hela smiled delightedly as she stood a few feet away from the Hulk. Stunned, her dropped her coat her clutch on the floor, and looked quite amusedly pleased.

"Big Green here wanted to see you," Tony sounded off and was responded to by the clicking of her heels on the granite floor.

"Pretty lady," Hulk smiled, "Hela."

"Good to finally meet you Hulk," Hela reached out her hand, to which the Hulk held tentatively, not wanting to hurt her.

"Pretty lady is pretty."

"Why thank you," Hela tightened her grip on the Hulk's hand and reached out the other, her hand barely covering his finger, "Wow, I never thought you'd be this big."

Hela breathed out the last sentence in excitement, bringing up her hand over the top of her head and failingly trying to reach the Hulk's head in measurement, only going as high up his chest.

"You're actually bigger than me," Hela was smiling ear to ear.

"Duh, he's the Hulk," Clint grunted, arms over his chest, "He's bigger than all of us."

"I'm a giantess," Hela replied, a cocky brow raised, "In my full physical height I should be around the Hulk's eye level."

"Wait, you're what?!" Steve nearly spat his coffee out.

"Don't tell me Natasha's the only one who read the myths," The goddess looked at each of them unbelievingly, still holding the Hulk's hand.

Natasha gave everyone a smug smile and added, "She also has two literally bigger brothers."

"Aye," Thor confirmed with a mouthful of pop tarts, "Fenrir and Jörmungand."

Clint dropped his bow, "The same Fenrir and Jörmungand? The giant wolf and snake?"

"Jörmungand is not a snake, he's more or less an un-winged dragon," Hela corrected, "And you might be familiar with their mortal personas."

Hulk was looking back and forth at everyone and was getting unnerved by the divided attention from Hela. He let out a loud roar that had everyone stop mid speech, Hulk grunting and looking down at Hela with his best attempt at a puppy dog stare.

Hela looked up expectantly and was surprised when the Hulk got on his knees and took a cross legged sitting position, gingerly seizing her by the waist, giving her a huge, if not, awkwardly sized hug, "Hulk like Hela."

To say that everyone was stunned was an understatement. Jaws dropped to the floor faster than the speed of light at the Hulk's confession – Tony quipping to Clint on his side, "Whaddya know, Big Green actually has game. Better than some Capsicle we know."

This earned Tony an icy glare from said Captain.

Hulk's sudden confession elicited a soft giggle from Hela who wrapped her arm around the Hulk's neck, "I like you too Hulk. You smashed up my father pretty well."

"Hulk best smasher of all!"

"Indeed you are," Hela acknowledged, "Gave him a much needed dose of cognitive recalibration too."

Hulk grinned wide and proud, puffing out his chest in pride.

* * *

><p>By the time the Hulk was finished cuddling the surprisingly amiable death goddess, he shrunk back into Bruce Banner, Stark naked with nothing to hide.<p>

They all decided to order pizza and other greasy fast food, Hela foregoing her meetings for the day to stay in with the Avengers, while they waited on two men with breath taking anger management issues to wake up into consciousness.

And while they waited for their coronary clogging treats, Tony kept the footage of the Bruce and Hela's conversation from earlier playing on loop, and had JARVIS pick up what Hela mouthed in Bruce's ear.

* * *

><p>"Be my date at the next gala."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> This had to be done. It just had to be done. Hulk is adorable, and if I can find a huge Hulk plushie-pillow here, I would buy it. No questions asked and definitely no regrets!

You know the drill, I appreciate all forms of love from my readers. Leave me some sweet treats in the reviews for encouragement~ until next time!


	11. Soul Language

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, or gaining any profit by writing this.

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><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

Soul Language

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><p>Hela came back the following day, urging Steve to spend time with Bucky before she come down to business – it was a reunion overdue, and though she didn't admit it verbally, she was warmed by the idea of reuniting old friends and family.<p>

She found Steve and Bucky in the training area in the middle of a sparring session, the sound of their blows reverberating within their immediate area, Hela having found a long bench where she sat while waiting for them to finish.

When they finally noticed her presence in the room, the two soldiers greeted which she responded with a small wave before looking back on the screen of her tablet, completely immersed with her work.

Now that Bucky was back to his old self and his memories repaired, Hela was gripped with anxiety, excitement, and even fear. So far he was her only solid lead to the sceptre's location, and although she had other means and measures to locate its whereabouts, finding an artefact of immense power was not only difficult, it was also dangerous and a death wish in itself, but being well acquainted with both didn't deter her from doing so – there were other things she was wary of and it was crucial that she be careful.

After Steve and Bucky finished their rounds, Hela didn't waste any more time and asked the newly recovered soldier of each and every Hydra locations he knew of and to list them down. Bucky was more than cooperative and promised to do so, after that, Hela came up the common floor while the two cleaned up.

* * *

><p>Hela was soon up the lounge with the still gaping hole and found Clint rummaging through the kitchen in search of food. Giving her a nod of acknowledgement, she smiled and raised up a couple of boxes in her hand, walking towards the counter where she laid down the boxes of pastries she brought.<p>

Clint warily looked at the treats and the goddess couldn't help but chuckle as she got up on one of the stools, "They're not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking."

"Sure," Clint stared at her, giving her the evil eye before walking over the shelf where the mugs where stored and asked, "Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Clint poured them a mug each and over to get the cream and sugar which he set down on the counter near Hela, "It's not poisoned."

"But if you knew I would be coming, then you would've prepared a dose or two, right?" Hela quipped patronizingly.

"What?" The archer had an unsure look on his face.

"Was that not what you had in mind?" Hela laughed this time, pouring a spoonful of sugar and a lot of cream on her coffee, "Forgive me if it wasn't verbatim."

Taking a bite out of a Danish pastry with chocolate filling, Clint walked over the other end of the counter and sat there, still giving her a glare, "Don't tell me you read minds."

Shaking her head no, she corrected him, "Souls. I can read soul language, if that means anything at all to you."

"Soul language?" Clint raised a brow.

"It's the easiest term to explain with, as it is one of my many special abilities," She replied, pausing for a brief thought, "Though it shouldn't really surprise you, especially since you're familiar with my brothers."

"That wasn't a joke?"

"Not at all," Hela rolled her shoulder to a shrug and turned slightly to face him, "Though I suppose you'd be more familiar with what the ancient Midgardian's called me."

Clint looked thoughtful for a moment; jogging his memory from the last time Natasha forced him to read the Norse Mythology after the Chitauri Invasion. If Hela was Fenris Fenrir and Jörmungand's sister, then she must be, "Don't tell me you're…"

"Indeed I am."

"And why didn't you mention this in the first place?" By now Clint was rubbing his face with his hands in exasperation; frustrated that Hela failed to inform them of her rank.

"It doesn't really matter;" She replied matter-of-factly, "Things would have gone awry if I mentioned my status, not to mention that you see my father as a psychopathic villain."

"And he's not?" Clint spat.

"You were under the sceptre's control too, were you not?" Hela lost the sweetness in her voice, the same with her face which was blank and expressionless; the face of the calm before the storm, "You had your difficulties after the Invasion. With everyone giving you dirty looks when they pass you by, the mistrust, the rejection that was so apparent from everyone around you, but you were able to get past that and live on, despite the horrible memories, the nightmares and the pull of control. You survived the horrors because you knew there were people cheering you on, giving you the hope you needed to get through. I, we wanted to be that for our father, and we're working hard to see it through."

Clint was stunned into silence, not by how much Hela knew of his situation, but by the determination burning in her eyes. He didn't want to trust her, but something tells him that she truly means what she said, and so he asked, "What happens when you get a hold of the sceptre? Any leads on Loki?"

"The power of the sceptre has been corrupted, there are ways though, to turn it back, which brings us to another concern; the longer the sceptre stays that way, the stronger its malignant force becomes, which would make purification a very arduous ordeal" She sighed, "And no, my father proves to be more elusive than the sceptre itself."

Clint face palmed himself and began to rub his temples, "You really make a habit of omitting details, don't you?"

"Aren't you supposed to be used to this sort of thing by now? After all, you did work for a highly covert intelligence agency," For the second time in the last few minutes, Hela managed to shut Clint up.

A few minutes later, Steve and Bucky arrived in the kitchen and found Clint bashing his head on the counter. When they asked Hela what it was about, she replied with 'It's nothing', with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Anyway, I came up with the list as you asked," Bucky cut in, handing Hela a piece of paper. "And thank you, for helping Steve find me, among other things."

"You're welcome, and it's nothing, really," Hela trailed off, scanning the paper quickly while tapping the information on her tablet. For a while she'd held her breath, hoping for the best only to be shot down after cross-matching the areas with the locations they've already checked before.

She breathed a sigh and smiled sadly at them, "We've already checked these places, but none of them had the sceptre. But thank you anyway; I'm still glad I was able to help you and Steve."

The room fell silent once more, the only sounds audible were the shuffling of objects on the counter, and the occasional clinks from the mugs and glasses in their hands.

Composing herself, Hela switched the screen off her tablet, tired of her frantic search for anything she might have missed during the first cross-reference, "I'll just have to look harder then."

"Can't you just magic your way to it or something? You know, like how Loki did it with the Tesseract?" Clint asked, backed up by Steve and Bucky's questioning look – the latter still trying to get up to speed with things.

"I can," Hela confirmed, "But with the sceptre's current state, I can't guarantee it won't have repercussions or adverse effects one way or another."

The three just nodded, not sure how to react since magic was not something they were aware of until recently.

* * *

><p>The next half hour was spent with small talk and chitchat, the ultimate stillness in the room only interrupted by one Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner in his tail holding a black furred, green eyed cat.<p>

Hela's mouth was agape in shock. The cat, she was certain of it; and she couldn't be mistaken, she knew that form all too well. She sucked in a breath and jumped off her seat, running towards the salt and pepper haired physicist with a broad, truly jubilant smile on her face when she exclaimed;

"Father!"

Hela was inches away from holding him when a sheer, green repellent barrier inscribed in ancient runes suddenly shot out at Hela, green lightning-like sparks sending her careening a few steps away, her own magic preventing the force from throwing her to the wall and out the Avengers Tower with its immense force.

Green fire was licking at her arms where she took the brunt of the energy field from doing any damage to her and those around her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I know, it's a sort of iffy chapter (I dunno why, but it just feels like it to me).

By the way! I drew Hela~ or my reimagining of her. I signed up for DA just for it, because in all my time drawing characters before, I just didn't do it back then. But I did, so I can show you guys.

**Tada here's the linky on deviantART!** _art/Helalokisdottir001-No1-487600883_

Welp, if you liked the drawing, the chapter, or violent reactions, don't forget to leave me a review! Keep posted on this fic by following and/or fave'ing too.

Love y'all!


	12. It's A No Brainer

**Disclaimer:** Guess who doesn't own the Avengers?

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><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

It's A No Brainer

* * *

><p>They stood wide eyed at the spectacle that happened before their very eyes; if they had any doubt about Hela's sudden outburst at calling the cat her father was now diminished – what they were speculating now in their minds was;<p>

"What the hell just happened?" Asked Tony as he stomped his foot at the green fire that licked at his foot, only to have it creep up his pant leg at incredible speed.

Hela snapped a finger and the fire were suddenly extinguished, not a single trace left, not even a trail of smoke, "Forgive me, I simply got too excited and rushed in, I forgot…"

She trailed off apologetically, her voice strained with disappointment.

"That doesn't tell a lot, doesn't it?" Clint resounded this time, eyes scanning the charred floor.

"When I was banished," Taken! Hela thought bitterly, hating the lie made to be truth in history and myth, "My father was cursed into never holding me in his arms again, even until the time I had to leave, he never…"

Hela's voice was shaking and her delighted eyes turned into one that of sorrow, longingly gazing at the cat who stirred sleepily in the doctor's hand. She hated how she was so close, and yet so far away from what she truly yearned for. The manifestation of the curse being a hard slap in her face about the reality she lived in – the one she feared of ever seeing when she closed her eyes and drifted off, the happy, and ultimately the sad memories that plagued all of them.

"My father promised he'd see me in my realm when his time comes," But it had been a lie. He needed to compensate for their painful goodbye, to assure her. She never got to hug him when she left; she tried, the other gods knew she tried but the barrier stood in her way, burning away on her rapidly healing flesh. She could never tell if it was the pain from the flames searing on her skin or the desire to cling to her father for last time and epically failing that screeched out of her mouth, her screams leaving her throat raw until she was further and further away from him – her last memory of him was his face that told her to be strong, that he would be with her in time, but she knew.

* * *

><p>They had long since darted off their destinations in various areas of the common floor, Tony quickly motioning towards the coffee machine, Steve and Bucky awkwardly looking on while they forcefully tried to enjoy their sweet treats, admittedly famished from their sparring session.<p>

Clint and Bruce sitting on lounge chairs opposite each other while Hela sat on one of the couches, her hand tentatively reaching to and fro the sleeping form of the cat on the other end. Sparks were flying whenever she flicked her fingertips close enough to activate the shield; tentative swipes, that was all – she made sure not to cause another rupture of energy to ravel throughout the room, but that didn't prevent the green flame from running up her arm from time to time, though she didn't really seem to mind.

"The curse," Bruce began and cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact, embarrassed about what happened the other day, "Does it affect him?"

Hela shook her head and straightened her back as she squeezed herself further into the plush sofa, knees to her chest hugging herself close, wiggling her stockinged toes while contemplating her answer, eyes locked on the floor, "It's a destructive repelling force with a very specific target, which makes it worse."

"Is there any way to get rid of it?" Steve joined in, taking a seat himself.

Thor decided that very moment to make an entrance, his purposeful strides taking him towards his Pop Tart stash in one of the cupboards, completely unaware of the situation.

"Only if it was lifted by its caster," She replied, her hands clenching into fists over her knees.

"Greetings my friends, and dear niece," Thor beamed jovially, walking over to them, only noticing this time their grave expressions, "Has something happened?"

"We found Loki," Tony called over the barstool he was perched on, a mug of piping hot coffee in his hand, "Or Hela did."

"You found him?" Thor breathed, alarm and relief washing over his features, "Where is my brother?"

When Hela didn't make a move to respond or to regard Thor in the slightest, everyone turned their eyes on Thor then the sleeping feline. Thor knotted his brows in confusion and took a while until the gears in his brain finally got a move on to figure out their gestures, and when he did, he gasped out in shock and scooted over the cat.

Thor got on one knee and inspected the cat closely, "Odin's beard, how could I have not noticed?!"

Hela shook visibly and quickly got to her feet, hands balled into fists on her sides, surprising the team members present in the room. She took a few calming breaths and quietly sat down, biting her lip in frustration and maybe even anger before she moved to speak, "Of course you couldn't have. You never did."

"But…" Thor drawn out, his voice a breathy whisper, even for his usual booming voice.

"You think my father failed you," Hela breathed out, eyes looking out and far away, "But the truth is that you and Odin failed him. You were both so easy in condemning him as a traitor when you did nothing but to make him feel inadequate. It was ironic how the God of Lies had lived with his entire life based on a lie. Or maybe it had been fitting – but it was truly unfair to mark of him as evil when he only acted out his rage and disappointment."

Thor got up to his full height and reasoned out, "I know not what you speak, Hela. If my brother has convinced you-"

"Convinced me?" Hela turned to him now, eyes hard and angry, "He couldn't even speak to me if he wanted!"

"You have seen what he's done," Thor tried again, "Tried to kill me, my father – went out of his way to invade Midgard, and even made me believe he's died before my very eyes. I know you love your father but I'm afraid he's already far gone."

Averting her eyes away, Hela looked at Loki's feline form and sighed, "What do you propose to do now, Odinson, kill him?"

"I did not-" Hela cut him off again.

"Then what did you mean exactly," Hela elaborated further, "Because obviously you can't have him running around plotting evil schemes. And prison's won't work either, trust me."

"I do not know," Thor admitted in defeat.

"Of course you don't, you're all muscle, no brain" She chuckled without humour, the other Avengers however, snickered with gusto, "For a would-be King you are truly hopelessly pathetic; though I do suppose that's why my father is fond and loves you so…"

Thor looked sad and dejected for a moment until he digested Hela's word, confusion settling on his face. He moved to speak but couldn't utter a word.

This time Hela smiled, "Be the best brother you can be this time around. If my theories prove to be right, we might have a shot at making things better, for all of us."

"I admire your fighting spirit my niece, but I," Thor started, lost for words once more as he sat down next to the cat, drowned in his thoughts.

There were only a few who noticed Natasha arrive and when she spoke up, some did look a bit startled, "How sure are you about this?"

Hela raised a cocky brow and smirked, "I have many great halls, but none of them has room for errors."

* * *

><p>Hela was now back in her posh Manhattan penthouse, exhausted from keeping herself calm throughout the day, having been on a rollercoaster of emotions in practically one sitting.<p>

When she got to her living room area, the lights were dimmed save for the orange glow from the bar and the bright lights from the buildings outside. There she found one figure perched on the arm rest of her sofa, the other leaning on the glass panes overlooking the city's skyline – both men sporting very smart and very stylish dark suits, each holding a glass of wine in hand.

"I wasn't expecting either of you until next week," Hela made her way over to them, scooping up the glass already filled for her as she took a seat across them.

"Well hello to you too," The taller, and more muscular of the two spoke, flashing a grin showing off his pointy incisors.

The other man swirled his wine on his glass, the rich scarlet liquid creating a vortex before he took a sip and walked over to Hela, giving her a pat on the head, "What he means to say is we finished early."

Hela curled her lips into a smile, which in turn was responded to by smirks. There in the midst of the darkness, shone three very identical green eyes staring at each other.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> And there you have it! Hmh, maybe we could play a guessing game who these mysterious men are? Or maybe not. Hahah.

Well, tell me what you guys think about this chapter, I'd certainly want to hear from you. And thank you to all those who already fave'd and followed!

Until next time. Keep on supporting!


	13. The Three Towers

**Disclaimer:** I don't know why I keep putting this up here, but I guess it's the norm. I don't own any of these guys.

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><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

The Three Towers

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><p>Despite his memories being repaired after decades of continuous brainwashing and torturous experiment, Bucky Barnes still felt the weight of his misdeeds scream at back of his mind. He has committed several crimes and assassination under HYDRA's banner, and it didn't help at all that he was living under the same roof with the person whose parents he has crossed of his list.<p>

Tony was kind enough to wave it off, saying that it's been done and the past was in the past. Steve felt compelled to hug to genius-billionaire right there and then, if not for Tony's protest against cuddly gratitude, which the super soldier couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head – glancing at his best friend with an 'It's-going-to-be-alright' look.

"I'm still sad I couldn't help much with the kind lady's search," Bucky said mournfully, "She did save us a lot of trouble with me possibly going off as a renegade mercenary."

"It couldn't be helped," Steve planted a hand on the Winter Soldier's shoulder, "For now, we'll keep an eye on those locations you listed, including the ones Hela provided."

"I think it would be better if we attack them now, cut off its head while the lead is hot," Tony mused aloud.

"No," Steve countered, "It would be far too dangerous, not to mention they might go under before we even finish rounding them off."

"Point taken," Tony sauntered away, most probably heading off to the lab.

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><p>Tony was soon in the lab and found Bruce straining his eyes over one of the clear holographic screens, scrutinizing a set of DNA analysis results and graphs while he took notes on his own tab.<p>

"Hey big guy," Tony walked over, reading the contents of the screen to himself, "What are these?"

"DNA analysis an-"

"Yeah, I know that," Tony looked closer then eyed Bruce, "Is this?"

"Uuh, yeah," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and walked over his own computer, pulling up more details of the results in his screen, "A few strands of Hela's hair got caught in my arm during the, uuh, Hulk incident…"

"I don't think your girlfriend's gonna like you tinkering with her DNA," Pulling a chair for himself, he sat backwards, crossing his arms over the backrest, sliding a couple of results into view, "Whose the other one?"

"She's not, ugh," Bruce pinched his nose on habit and explained, "The other one is Loki's, or the cat Hela called her father."

"Yeah?" Tony urged on.

"And I'm lost," Bruce conceded.

"No kidding, these results don't make any sense," Tony frowned, continuously sliding graphs and results back and forth.

"You know what this means?" Bruce looked at Tony with serious, determined eyes.

Tony, on the other hand grinned wide resolutely, "I think I do know what you mean."

Both geniuses shared a maniacal laugh, enough to send shivers down the spine of a certain archer who overheard the entire conversation somewhere in the vents and decided to crawl up and further away before he heard the resounding 'It's Science Bro time!'.

At that time, Clint could've sworn he heard the bumping of fists echo through the vents, or maybe it had only been his imagination.

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><p>"Brother, forgive me if I have wronged you in any way," Thor turned his head down, knees on the floor begging for forgiveness.<p>

He was up at the common floor when Steve, Bucky and Natasha found him bowing incessantly over the prone figure of the cat licking its paw while Thor cried out for pardon. The three raised their brows and walked away slowly, not wanting to interrupt the amusing, yet asinine pleas for mercy by the God of Thunder.

Before they were even ten steps away, cried out 'brother' rather thunderously and went over to seize the cat in his arms when it scratched his face defensively. Only when Thor did slumped back to the floor did the cat settled down from his menacingly crouched posture, and continued to laze on.

"How long has he been doing that?" Bucky asked, aghast.

Steve and Natasha shrugged, the former responding, "As far as I know, since Hela left from her last visit."

"Five days, seventeen hours, and thirty-two minutes," Natasha provided.

"What?" Both soldiers voiced out in astonishment.

Natasha gave a knowing look, "Someone's been keeping track."

"Who?!" Steve asked, in shocked curiosity.

"It's classified," That's all Natasha said before walking over to one of the lounge chairs, reaching for the stack of new magazine's in the pile.

"Who would do such a thing?" Steve kept his tone down so only Bucky would hear, "I mean, doesn't that freak you out even a little?"

"Whoever that is," Bucky whispered in return with a shrug of his shoulder, "Is probably someone who's anal about keeping track of certain things."

Natasha watched them make their way to the kitchen, a satisfied smirk on her lips as she flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine, only stopping for a moment to read a snippet from an article then flipping through again.

Somewhere down in the lower levels of the Avengers Tower, a certain physicist shuddered for no reason, checking the temperature of the room and saw that it was the same as the usual.

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><p>Two hours or so later, Clint dropped off one of the vents in the lounge area and found Natasha immensely buried in reading an article from a magazine, several pages of which had folded marks to be read after, while the rest stood in stacks with opened pages and the familiar folds in separate pages.<p>

Steve and Bucky were in the middle of a complicated game of chess and left them alone to strategize against each other. What stopped him in his tracks mid-stride was Thor bowed down on the floor, offering Pop Tarts to an uninterested cat, which rolled over to the other side, completely ignoring Thor's cries of plea and protest.

"How long has he-?"

"Five days, 19 hours, and eleven minutes." Steve, Bucky and Natasha sounded in unison.

Clint frowned; the need to hurl obscenities and insults trapped in his throat, and instead asked, "Has Loki ever told you that you're obnoxiously annoying?"

"Aye, indeed he has," Thor replied gloomily without looking at Clint.

Walking over to sit on the other end of the couch, he reached for the remote and bluntly added under his breath, "No wonder he went crazy."

The comment was decisively ignored by everyone who continued on with what they were doing while Clint dispassionately switched channels, looking for something to pass the time with – he may also have gotten a Pop Tart or two from Thor's plate with the help of his very deft sleight of hand, to snack on.

Flipping through channel after channel, Clint stopped pressing the remote control button and leaned slightly to look at the picture on the screen, "Hey, isn't that that building over there?"

Clint had a forefinger pointing outside, where three towers came into view from a few blows away, each one identical but with two them dwarfing against the main, middle tower which was at least three quarters up of the way.

Natasha glanced at the screen then slightly back through the glass panes where the three towers were in sight, "What about it?"

"Just asking," Clint shrugged and decided to watch the TV Special documenting the inauguration of said infrastructure. He always had a fascination with tall buildings, and New York wasn't in a shortage of them. Living in the Avengers Tower was a miracle and a blessing rolled into one, though he didn't voice it out to the team, except for Natasha who knew he liked staying above ground; the higher, the better, so he couldn't help but be curious with the opening of the new skyscraper in town, which rivals the Avengers Tower in vertical structure.

He got up to get a bottle, a two little bottle of soda from the fridge and missed the headline of the story when it flashed on the screen.

The narration went on while Clint rummaged through the different flavoured drinks, debating with himself which one he should take.

None were particularly interested, until a snipped caught the ears of the two veterans, "-socialite-philanthropist Eleanor Helström during the height of World War 2 after defecting from Germany, among other refugees in her care. In 1942, with her aid of her cousins, Wall Street esteemed investors Henry Wolfe and James Liesc-"

"Kinda rings a bell," Bucky turned his seat now to look at the television screen.

Steve looked at him to see if he was serious, and he was, "Can't believe you forgot. They were those upper-class people who turned their huge Manhattan mansion into a hospital."

"They also built that charity hospital downtown. It's where I took mom until she refused to go through medication," Steve had a sad, longing look in his eyes which Bucky consoled with a reassuring grip of his hand on Steve's forearm.

Natasha decided to look back in her magazine and give the two out-of-time soldiers their much needed privacy when Clint came back with not one, but two lime flavoured sodas.

They were all minding their own business until an interview with two of the successors and brain-childs of re-establishing their business back to its roots, in the same spot in Manhattan.

No one seemed to pay attention as two gorgeous men came on the screen, except for Natasha who was holding a magazine and curiously discreetly looking back and forth from its pages.

The minutes went on and Natasha was now focused on the screen. She was familiar with the two men or one of them most especially. If you were any normal person in the twenty-first century that enjoys great movies, you'd be familiar with the chisel-faced, dark haired, predatory eyed gorgeous man standing next to the equally beautiful man with the hauntingly wolfish grin, eye candy for the nerds with a thing for numbers.

Clint snorted, "Crushing on the pretty boys now, 'Tasha?"

"Shut up, Barton," She quipped icily.

They watched the interview without various heights of interest, mostly with Steve and Bucky looking up whenever World War Two was mentioned, and Clint, beaming up excitedly when photographs of the building where shown while Thor not even once glanced back, too busy interrupting the cat in its sleep.

Natasha, who now has her arms folded over her chest, broke the silence, "I'm going to say this, because I don't at all feel dumb or anything, but has anyone ever considered 'Helena's' last name?"

This was more towards Clint than anyone else in the room who knew nothing of the twenty-first century, aforementioned archer looking a bit lost. It was also then, when Tony and Bruce showed up, looking ready to refill their mugs and just overall check in on everyone.

"What about it?" Bruce asked, looking filled with curiosity.

Natasha pointed at the TV screen.

"That's Jorge Lieschmidt, big boss of the biggest and most badass entertainment company and the other guy is Finley Lieschmidt, the Wolf of Wall Street. Oh…"

"She did mention we should be familiar with her brothers," Bruce added in understanding.

"What is it of my niece and nephews?" Thor asked, dumbfounded.

Tony rolled his eyes, Bruce did the answering, "Look behind you."

Thor did and there he saw two familiar faces, both of which looking like different versions of his brother, but he knew it couldn't be, "What sorcery is this?!"

"Thor, it's TV, we already explained that," Natasha said with a growl to her voice.

"At least I know what television is," Bucky chided with dry humour, receiving a chuckle from Steve.

"I know what this tele-vision is," Thor stood menacingly now, hammer in hand, "But what are my nephews doing in there?"

Everyone sighed in frustration, irritation and practically every word that would correspond to the ticking headache they were all now having.

"Television doesn't suck people's souls Thor," Steve said, and was certain that it was what Thor was getting at.

Bucky grinned, "Or camera's."

"I am well aware of that, friends Steve and Bucky," Thor lowered his hand wielding the hammer and crossed over closer to the TV, "What I meant was that my nephews were not supposed to be roaming free in this world, or any world. They were banished and held captive in their own prisons."

Natasha massaged her temple and spoke without looking at Thor, "Like the myths. They were banished because they would be responsible for Ragnarök."

"Aye," Thor replied without a trace of hesitation.

"No wonder Loki went crazy!" Clint exclaimed this time, more resolute now unlike earlier.

Thor had a look of consideration, realizing only for the first time in their very long years how much his brother had suffered at the loss of his children. He may have known then, but he didn't have the capacity to empathize with Loki's sorrow, and instead, he had forcefully, insensitively made his brother go along with him and his many glorious adventures, not even giving him time to lament his loss in peace. He didn't even offer his shoulder for him to cry on, believing that tears held no room in a warriors face. He had been very inconsiderate, maybe he had been wrong all this time; no, there was no maybe, he was wrong.

Moving back to sit on the couch next to Clint and the sleeping cat, Thor felt the weight of his mistakes heavily on his shoulders.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So while I was writing this chapter, I've been trying to picture how Jörmungand and Fenrir would look like in their Human/Æsir forms, so I decided on this!

Fenrir would be somewhere along the looks of Ian Somerhalder, I mean, if his wolfish looks doesn't hit home then I dunno. I didn't really watch Vampire Diaries, I only got a peak at some episodes, but he is hot! I'm totally pitting his looks for Fenrir.

And Jörmungand is Daniel di Tomasso, from Witches of East End. He has the sneaky bastard look on him, and serpents are sort of akin to being sneaky, slithering, bastards. Jorge just puts the sexy in it and I think this guy fits the bill.

I actually had a debate of who's gonna be who, but I let their heights decide. Daniel is taller than Ian, and of course obviously Jörmungand is taller (longer) than Fenrir, but I think it'll be tweaking it a bit. Hela of course would be the shortest of the tree, but even if Jorge is the middle child, he's the tallest.

Well, that's it I guess.

Please don't forget to follow, fave, and or review this story. If you have anyone in mind that would fit Loki and his three children's looks or persona, please let me know in the reviews.


	14. Piece Together

**Disclaimer:** I hereby declare that the Avengers do not belong to me.

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><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

Piece Together

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><p>The world around him was plunged into muffled silence – his mind clouded with distant, and fleeting memories he could not grasp, his body light and seemingly shapeless as he stared narrow eyed in the vast darkness that shrouded him.<p>

Pieces here and there were coming together slowly but surely. He was in Midgard where he sought for refuge from a villainous threat that endangered his existence. He remembered being in Asgard, a solitary room – grief. What was it the he was grieving about, did someone die? Try as he might, the memory seems to elude him, flowing from his grasp like water in clenched fists.

There were other things, names; he recalled names, extremely fond names that rolled off his tongue like sweet nectar, and he felt his chest fill with warmth, and dread. There was something amiss, those names; he knew whose they were. They were…

"My children," He breathed out, realization hitting him at rapid speed.

There was Sleipnir. Though the eight-legged horse was not technically his child, he shaped him from the dying forms of the newly born Svaðilfari and Hveðrungr, who were to be his and his brother's great steeds had they not been birthed with deformity. He was no more than a mere boy when he's done it, but his heart broke when he heard they were to be put down because of their weak and deformed bodies. They said they were dying anyway and that it was mercy to put them out of their misery sooner – but he didn't accept that; so he snuck in to the stables where they were kept, and let his magic transform them into one, majestic being. And he knew he did the right thing, he was very proud.

Then there were Váli and Narfi, two orphaned children he took under his wing and tutelage, and later on, gave his own name. They were wonderful children; he taught them magic and were quick to learn the ways. They stayed with him until one fateful day. An evil plot against him was set into motion by evil warlocks whom Loki brought into justice after having revealed their plot to overthrow the King; they turned Váli into a raging ferocious wolf and killed his brother Narfi. His enemies didn't stop there; they had desecrated his adopted son's remains by attacking and binding him in Narfi's entrails while in his vulnerable state of grieving after hearing the unfortunate news.

He could've sworn his heart stopped at the recollection. After the events of Narfi's death, a recovered Váli lost his mind and ran away from Asgard and was never to be heard of again.

And it was only one of his many painful memories.

His mind buzzed with the flurry of memories spinning before him, there were other names, he couldn't remember; names he knew long before his two other fallen sons.

Their semblance was familiar, if not hazy in his memories. There was a pang of pain that seared through his heart, his mind screaming – the three names, he couldn't utter them even if he tried, there was something about them that made him want to crouch and hold his head in his hands, scream to the vast nothingness he was caged in. It was a painful recollection that threatened to break out the back of his mind, but he couldn't, he didn't dare. He knew looking back would break him, grind him into the ground until he was no more and he'd still feel the pain.

Head throbbing now, he took two, three calming breaths and tried to clear his mind. One breath at a time, he counted, trying to seize his pants into a synchronized melody to ease his panicked state.

Loki closed his eyes and realized there was no difference with his eyes peeled or shut, there was nothing but darkness around him and the fogged illusions of his memories to haunt him.

He was to soon fall into another fit of deep sleep until a fizzle of energy pried his eyes open. There was a familiar scent lingering in the air, and he was filled once again with fond, yet painful memories.

Somewhere, he heard someone call for him – an affectionate voice echoing his surroundings, the sweet, cheerful voice lulling him in a sweet embrace of love.

Loki heard her loud and clear, a voice he knew so well in his memory. The same voice which saved him from the nightmares that plagued him, something along with other familiar voices. He was perfectly sure, he couldn't be mistaken.

He breathed a soothing breath, a resigned smile he knew and felt plastered on his lips, "My dear darling daughter. Hela…"

And everything was ruptured into darkness again, but this time, there was peace.

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><p>He woke up with a start, not knowing where he was. A presence, he wasn't alone. On impulse he got up and clawed the shrouded stranger away with seething fury – he didn't know who or what it was, but there was a tinge of satisfaction brewing within him that calmed him down and then he was asleep again.<p>

The days and nights were a blur to him, he didn't know what time or day it was – the darkness was too thick around him to be certain; nevertheless he was certain he was at a safe place, he'd gotten himself there, did he not? Wherever he was, that he did not know, but knew to be a place where he can lie in wait for something, anything to happen that would save him.

"Save me?" He croaked out, the words unsure even to his ears. The time he spent in the darkness suddenly alarmed him. He remembered falling into the great abyss.

Jogging his memory for answers, he found himself looking up, holding for dear life at the end of a long, great golden staff. There he found a familiar blond man, desperately holding him aloft on the other end – and then he saw it.

Knowing that it was yet another painful recollection he's seeing, he tried to close his eyes but it was too late. The face, he knew that face; it was the face of his father – the face of Odin, and then he words he enunciated shattered him, 'No, Loki,' and he let go.

Then there was silence; deep, unnerving, silence that ringed his ears – not a sound, not even his ragged breath or beating heart.

He grew mad at the stillness that consumed him, but before he could utter another cry, words suddenly echoed around him, threatening.

"-ere will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you," It kept going on and on, the words swirling in his head, whispering over and over until he cried out again. Whose words were they? The sudden need to protect urging him to do its bidding, whatever it was that it needed from him.

And just as abruptly the words snared and attacked him, it was gone. Blinking his eyes before the nothingness that he sees, a threatening voice suddenly rang in his ears, "You think you know pain?"

He braced himself, knowing the worst was to come.

"He will make you long for something as sweet as pain!"

Panic rose from the pit of his stomach as a bright, blinding light suddenly flashed all around him.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in a land of vast darkness and mist, his surroundings lit by glowing gems embedded on the rocks mounted in the soil. The snow covered ground showed tampering of great struggle and battle. Bodies were littered everywhere he looked, the pristine whiteness of the ground leading all the way to the shiny, obsidian paths towards the great palace was muddied by the blood of the fallen. He wandered along the path that led uphill.

He had no idea why, but his legs felt compelled to run swiftly towards the edge, his heart racing madly.

And there, before his very eyes, he saw the lifeless form of Jörmungand limping off on the other edge, his invulnerable body unbelievably tattered and destroyed; his great golden eyes devoid of his light and he knew he was gone.

A single tear fell from his eye and the anguish that filled his heart had cried violently for his son. He tore his eyes away reluctantly, only to see Fenrir's severed head speared onto a pike over the gates, his tongue lolling off the side as various parts of his body where thrown haplessly in on the floor, and he knew that he too was gone.

Rushing over to reach his sons, he wasn't spared a moment to grieve for his boys when he found yet another grotesque scene to cut off another's life.

A hundred feet away from him, he saw Hela gripped by her assailant by the head as crimson streaks of her blood flowed from the neck down. He rush over, running as he'd never run before but no matter what he did or how fast he's gone, they were always a ways away from him.

Dropping his knees to the ground, the scream for mercy but his pleas reached no one. He heard her struggles, her rabid curses and insults at her assailant despite her already weakening voice. Loki watched with tear filled eyes as his daughter lost the energy to beat at her captor's arm, her hands falling to her sides helplessly.

A ray of hope shined for Loki when he saw the towering figure let loose his grip on her head, and he saw her once beautiful face marred, disfigured and covered with blood; it was when the shadowy figure move his hand to grab a fistful of her hair, Loki saw the end of it all.

Plunging his hand deep into Hela's chest, he heard her gurgling cries of pain and protest. And when the figure shrouded in shadows pulled his fist back, his bloody hand procuring his most coveted treasure and dropped Hela into a heap on the ground, a used rag doll he no longer had any use for.

His scream pierced the world around him, the darkness breaking as light filtered through the skies.

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><p>A bright golden light erupted in the lounge floor. It was past midnight and the Avengers, plus Bucky were alerted of the event by JARVIS.<p>

Thor, who had been camping out in the living room with the cat was shot all the way across the built-in hangar on the patio. He was covered in burn marks all over, like how the entire lounge and kitchen was now singed and covered in soot.

Thor walked back inside just as the rest of the Avengers exited the elevator. As they walked towards the area where a dwindling ring of fire left its inner space unharmed, they saw a man with pale skin and dark hair crouched on the floor, sweat beading his forehead as his laboured breathing came in raspy, short gasps.

"I think we better call Hela," Natasha said.

The rest nodded as they prepared to get him to the medical bay.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I hope you guys like it! And for those who have recently fave'd and followed this story, thank you so much! I'm also sorry I couldn't personally PM my thanks 'coz my e-mail is acting like a mother (and I don't really want to accidentally PM someone I already messaged because, I'm prone to do something like that).

Anyway, this story was supposed to be short, 700+ words short. Then when I was about to upload the document, I started adding stuff and I got to write more. Heheh.

Welp, I hope you guys enjoy it! And don't forget to leave a review if you have time 'coz… I would really, absolutely, no doubt about it~ appreciate the effort.

Thanks guys!


	15. Golden Clouds

**Disclaimer: **Nothing to do here…

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

Golden Clouds

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><p>Hela had turned in early for the night to rest her physical body in the luxury of her room while her astral projected soul dealt with matters back in her realm when the customized ringtone specifically set for any member of the Avengers abruptly merge back with her body on Midgard, leaving her in a groggy state similar to that of a just awakened person.<p>

Reaching for the phone as she tiredly roused herself in a sitting position, she internally reprimanded herself from descending overeagerly, answering the phone, "Lieschmidt."

Bruce noticed the sleepy tone of her voice, followed by a yawn; it seems like he had a bad habit of calling her during the most importune times, but it was a dire emergency, "Hi, uuh, sorry for calling so late…"

Hela blinked her eyes and focused on the darkness around her room, letting her sight adjust before she slipped her leg off the side of the bed, "It's quite alright. Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Bruce started, "It's Loki."

Bruce explained calmly over the phone about as calm as he could get about the situation. They have an unconscious God in the medical bay who has, according to the video footage, disintegrated the entire communal floor into ash, and everyone was beyond perturbed and in dire need of caffeine.

Despite the tiresome travel from Hel and back, Hela felt the magical residue permeating from the direction of the Avengers Tower, it was feint, but she had a feeling it gets worse outside.

The entire time the information was being relayed to her, Hela had been and concentrating on a large bag, conjuring the necessary contents she would need, including a large metal case with ancient runes etched on the surface. By the time Bruce finished, she had her phone dumped inside her bag, dashing from the hallway towards the grand staircase leading towards the lounge, barefooted and still in her button down, black silk pyjama top.

She found both her brothers looking out the floor to ceiling windows where thin clouds of golden light formed around the Avengers Tower, left unseen from the prying eyes of the mortals or any technology known to man.

"That doesn't look good," Fenrir said to no one in particular, "At all."

They didn't notice Hela creep up behind them, too busy studying the flaring cloud of golden magic, registering it to be their father's and something else and when Hela cleared her throat to announce her presence, they nearly jumped at the ferocious look in her eyes; she didn't bother with a greeting and was all seriousness, "Oh, it gets worse."

Exchanging questioning looks at each other, they then turned to Hela who was holding on for dear life at a large metal case to her chest, a large bag hooked over each arm and a backpack.

Hela muttered a word under her breath and offhandedly reported the situation, "It's father; he shifted back to Æsir form and that happened."

She emphasized on the word as she gestured towards the drifting clouds of magic.

"It's definitely father's," Jörmungand hissed at the golden clouds which threateningly grew by the second.

Fenrir nodded, "And something else. I couldn't make it out from here, but it's dark."

"We shouldn't teleport our way in then," Hela conceded, trusting their judgement due to their feral senses.

Jörmungand and Fenrir went to their respective rooms to gather their things while Hela grabbed another bag to pack food and other provisions having heard that the lounge including the kitchen was burned to a crisp. She didn't want to have to deal with hungry heroes, she might just flip.

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><p>When they finally finished packing, they quickly made their descent to the parking lot where Hela took long and quick strides towards her vehicle of choice, passing through different sports, and luxury cars, all with their uniform choice of colours: gold, black, green, or silver. When she dashed for her black, intimidating hulk of a Hummer, they knew she meant business – or blood, or both. Now was not the good time to piss of their sister, bad things happen when she gets the slightest bit irritated when she is this on edge.<p>

Hela opened the driver's seat and carefully laid the metal case on the passenger seat, fastening the seatbelt and left her brothers to seat at the back, along with their bags. Neither was particularly upset they didn't get to ride shotgun because of Hela's abysmal driving.

Hela sped off the driveway and once their vehicle was out in the open city, the air felt thick, and almost sticky which made Fenrir groan out in annoyance, "It smells like Bilgesnipe out there."

"Like food, you mean?" Jörmungand asked rhetorically.

"I'm not even sure I wanna sniff the air out," Hela ground out, "Though it does reek of malice, if that was what you meant."

"It actually gets worse," Fenrir said, as he rolled the window down and sniffed the air with his head sticking out, glaring at the still growing cloud of magic, "And I think the cloud just winked at me."

"Shut up dog, you're probably just seeing things," Jörmungand spat as he pulled his brother back in and rolled the windows back up.

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><p>They arrived in the Tower's parking lot in less than five minutes, thanks to Hela's horrific, yet quite useful reckless driving; it took longer for them to pack the supplies and food they needed than the actual drive there.<p>

The three hastily made their way towards the elevators and soon found themselves into the hallway leading to the medical bay. There they found some of the Avengers lingering in the spacious waiting room, Natasha perched on an arm rest next to Clint; Steve and Bucky standing against the wall as they walked cautiously towards them but that didn't stop the haste in their steps as they got closer.

They found Thor slumped on the floor, the worry etching his face soon replaced by a quizzical look as he saw his nephew's faces looking down at him, "Is he going to be alright?"

"We'll make sure of it," Hela answered, "We've got more to lose than you do if we don't."

Hela's determined, if not biting response gave Thor the strength he needed to get up and hold his long lost niece and nephews, in a crushing embrace, pleading to them to save his brother's life. Giving her brother's a sideway glance, she looked for the reassurance she needed from her brother's, as they did the same in turn, knowing that they have each other for support.

After the lengthiest and most asphyxiating hug she has received in her life, maybe, Hela introduced her brother's to the Avengers, and if the circumstances had been any different and they were not in the middle of a crisis, she was sure her brothers would've swoon.

The Avengers on the other hand were dumbstruck and in awe at their resemblance to Loki and each other; the smooth, flawless almost pale fair skin, the distinguished green eyes – only slightly more green than their father's, and the jet black hair that could strike any God or mortal with envy.

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><p>Jörmungand and Fenrir stayed in the medical bay with Bruce and Tony to check on their father's condition, putting him under a suppression spell that covered his entire body, while Hela contains the magic cloud spreading out throughout the city.<p>

"I still don't see how this 'magic' thing works," Tony swivelled his chair close to the bed to inspect the sheen sheet of magic all over Loki.

Fenrir settled his coffee mug down and stared at Tony too long for comfort, making the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist cringe.

"I think what Tony means to say is-" Bruce started and was suddenly interrupted by a holographic screen popping out of thin air, Hela coming into view.

"Good news, the cloud can be contained," She said.

"Why haven't you put decent clothes yet?" Jörmungand asked, to which Hela responded to with a shrug as his brother stood in front of the screen, staring perplexedly at his sister who was, judging by the wind billowing of her hair and the immense city landscape glowing behind her, was standing afloat right above them.

"Here's the bad news," Both siblings shuddered at the sight of Hela's delightful grin, "The cloud has gained sentience so I will have to shut down the entire city so as to not alarm the mortals."

"Shut the city down?!" Tony suddenly rose up in his chair, the rest of the Avengers filing into the room at the sound of his alarm.

"She's going to what now?" Clint resounded.

Fenrir cleared his throat and motioned for everyone to calm down, "She means she'll put the city to sleep."

"Do you require any assistance, dear niece?" Thor boomed, Mjölnir ready in his hand.

"No, it's best if you all stay there," She assured, "And take father to ground level. The cloud is gaining more power by feeding off his energy. It's preferable if the room is reinforced so you can set the portable Soul Forge I brought."

"Alright," Jörmungand nodded, while Fenrir felt put off not being let into the battle, "Anything else?"

"Fenrir, get ready to switch places with me after I'm done putting the city to sleep."

At that, the screen blinked away and Jörmungand put the barrier up as his sister instructed.

"Is it okay if we just left her alone out there?" Bruce asked Hela's brothers.

"She's going to be totally fine," Fenrir huffed excitedly.

"Do you have any reinforced rooms in the lower levels?" Jörmungand asked, ignoring Fenrir's excitement.

"We have the Hulk's containment unit," Steve answered.

"That would be perfect!"

"Sorry Bruce, we'll have to rent out your room again," Steve chided with the Physicist, it was a good long standing joke amongst them by now.

"I'm not sure about you guys, but this is something I am definitely going to watch," Tony quipped excitedly, "JARVIS, show us a live feed from outside."

"Right away, sir."

"Impressive, Stark," Fenrir gave him an approving look, which Tony, of course not one to pass out on praises from a God, bowed gallantly taking pleasure.

A home-theatre sized screen flipped into view from one of the walls which automatically switched on to show a live video feed from outside.

"What the heck are those things?"

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong> Another cliffhang chapter ending. I seem to like doing a lot of that. Hahah.

And many thanks to those who recently followed and fave'd this fic, as well as those who reviewed the previous chapter.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me.


	16. A Ray of Hope

**Disclaimer: **Don't own the Avengers, or any part of Marvel. And by the way, check the author's note after you're done reading. I have a surprise for you!

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

A Ray of Hope

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><p>Jörmungand made miniscule gestures and symbols in the air, and from it emerged a coiled figure resembling a snake which dropped on the floor with a small explosion, causing the slithering translucent form to disperse across the floors and into the walls at a rate which left some of the Avengers to gap in awe at the filmy layer of shimmery, snake-skin like texture of the force that seemed to cover the entire tower from inside out.<p>

Tony, who had been watching the events outside from the screen looked up and called out to everyone, "I think Hela's about to do some abracadabra thing!"

Fenrir snickered while Jörmungand rolled his eyes at the comment.

From the screen, Hela seemed like she was about to do something, but in truth, she's already done doing her part and was now watching the progress of the cloud's mystical force while it slowly contorted its intangible frame into a solid, form of sheer power. Floating on over and around the sentient being, she drove straight in and emerged at least ten feet away. The cloud force seem to didn't like her intrusion and sent a solidified fist to come swinging its way towards her; without even looking up, its fist came crashing down against an invisible force protecting Hela, causing its entire arm to disrupt into flimsy mists of gold against the crackling dark, electrified barrier.

Obstructed from view due to the golden mist that fluttered around her, Hela looked at the object that piqued her curiosity into diving inside the creature – her now clawed, armour arm holding a string of glowing blue light that connected itself to the now growing head of the being, and to its power source, her father.

She conjured a palm glove for her other hand and took a firm hold of the glowing blue light and struck a clawed forefinger into it, like plucking a string from a guitar and studied its properties. As she looked at the end of the string of light she held, she noticed it left room for regeneration, while the other end was sucked back into the golden cloud. Giving it one glaring look, she disappeared from the night sky.

* * *

><p>"Where'd she go?" Clint asked from behind Tony.<p>

The genius-former-playboy shrugged, and just then a voice spoke from behind them, "You're up."

Hela materialized into the room, one arm clad in fully black armour, fist tight on her side, holding something they can't quite see with their eyes.

Fenrir crouched down and sniffed at her hand, "Potent, but weak. What is it?"

"A residue from the sceptre's force; I am certain now that father has been fighting off its effects on him, and caused the implosion of magic that exploded in the Avengers living room," Hela replied, raising her arm to show the Avengers the string of force she was holding, "It's also giving that cloud its sentience."

"That sounds dangerous," Steve said.

"Sounds like fun," Fenrir replied, before dissipating in the air.

Jörmungand scooted over, arm covered in the same shimmering film that was protecting the tower, "In theory, we might be able to use this to track down the location of the sceptre."

Hela gave him a single nod.

The next thing they knew, there was a piercing howl that shattered the air which caused the cloud to lose its form.

* * *

><p>They soon moved Loki into the lower level of the Tower where the Hulk's containment unit was located, escorted by Bruce, Clint, and Natasha. Steve and Bucky stayed behind with Tony in case something else happened, while said genius chose to stay to watch the events with a bag of chips courtesy of their guests – and Thor, he stayed because he couldn't figure out what to say or do around his niece and nephews; there was a feeling in the pit of his stomach akin to guilt, especially now that he is beginning to realize the things he failed to notice before.<p>

Hela contained a strand of the sceptre's force inside an enchanted glass box, and hid it away outside the physical world while her brother, along with Clint and Natasha set the Soul Forge emulator around and inside the containment unit.

As calm as the ocean on a beautiful day out under the sun, there were grey clouds and rolling thunder at the back of her mind, threatening to lash out at everything in her path with roaring streaks of lightning; even then, that feeling was nothing compared to what brews deep inside her and her brothers. It was a close call; they almost lost their father that night and were too afraid to admit it because their broken spirit would be the end of it all. Loki was the anchor to their sanity, the last ray of hope that shines down their path. They love him with all their hearts, along with his faults and everything in between. He was the only one who loved them without question, and he has suffered long and hard enough on his own – but it was in their fates to be torn asunder, only to be reunited by chaos.

Hela allowed a small smile to herself; if it was chaos that would bring them together, then there was enough chaos in the heart of one man to let them be together. And fate, the Norns, they didn't matter at all to her – she didn't lie in wait to free her brothers to let their father pass them by. She swore she would bring them back together, no matter the cost.

Bruce was hovering around behind her when she turned back. She gave him a weary smile and drifted her eyes over the containment unit, which was now aglow with a speckled gold and bronzy light, as she shifted in her seat.

"Thank you, for calling me as soon as it happened," She breathed.

Bruce nodded tentatively, perching on the metal table, "It's nothing, since we didn't know what to do in the first place."

"It's not 'nothing', it means everything to us," Was Hela's solemn reply.

"You must really love him," Bruce said rhetorically, but was hoping to at least get an answer; Hela was still a stranger to them, but something about her made him want to gravitate towards her, even if she was shrouded in mystery.

"He was a great father," Hela's words her warm, reminiscent, and held a firm grasp of pride, "Better than his father – any of his fathers."

"It must be difficult for you," He looked at her now, "To be surrounded by people who don't, I mean, see him as you do."

"It pains me greatly," She replied honestly, "I see everything for what it is and what it's not. Judging people for what they seem isn't part of my repertoire. I know he's not going to be the same as before; he's broken, but that's what my brother's and I are here for. I can't – we can't let him become someone else, not without a fight."

Bruce didn't know what to say; he really didn't know Loki, but if he was going to be honest with himself, he did pass on his judgement to him before he even had a chance to interact with him. The one and only time he had with the Trickster was when he wasn't even himself, he was, the Other Guy. In light of Hela's words, he felt stupid, incompetent, weak; or as the Hulk would have it, 'Puny'.

From what he's read or heard, her brothers were the first to go into banishment, and then Hela when she came of age. He didn't know how Asgardians calendars go, or what age is the legal age, but he could only guess that it was far too soon for any of them to cope with. They spend centuries, heck if Thor wasn't exaggerating, they spent thousands of years of not seeing each other. And there he was feeling like he's lost everything after his accident which turned him into a man who transforms into a green, rage monster. His struggles couldn't even compare, and yet, he couldn't even try and see Loki as someone who once used to have a great deal of good in him; if anything, he should be able to empathize, right?

Bruce raised his glasses on top his of head and closed his eyes shut, trying to clear his head full of guilt.

Hela reached her hand out to Bruce and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Don't push yourself too hard Doctor Banner, lest you may get sick. After all, we still have that heart-to-heart talk we have to do some day in the future."

If Bruce blushed when he felt Hela's hand over his own, her words may yet to cause him another Hulk-out, "Uuh, yeah."

He had completely forgotten all about it; what with Hulking out less than an hour after he agreed to her deal, Hulk being quite the green-skinned romantic and confessed he likes Hela – and not to forget that Hela also seen him buck naked after. His head was pounding now and excused himself to get something or other; he could've sworn he heard Hela chuckle but everything was drown out by his racing heart and Tony's boisterous voice, who has now come down from the medical bay with the rest of them in tow, and seemingly having a fun and excited bro-talk with Hela's brother Fenrir.

"That was really awesome," Tony exclaimed, "So is it true that you transform into a giant ferocious wolf? 'Coz you know, giant raging monsters are totally my deal!"

Bruce sighed and made a quick exit, hoping to rest his head somewhere where Tony's cackling voice couldn't be heard.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I'm pregnant Trevor! I'm kidding, I just remember the Deadpool leaked footage.

Anyway, the surprise is! I've finally decided who would be the celebrity look-a-like of the siblings Lieschmidt. It's Eva Green (Hela), Ian Somerhalder (Jörmungand) and Colin O'Donoghue (Fenrir).

Check it out on my profile, I have the picture's linked there, and the Hela drawing I made (and posted) a couple chapters back.

Many thanks to those who fave'd and followed, and to those who are just about to! Lotsa hearts for those who always leaves reviews for every chapter, I really appreciate it when you do. Thank you!


	17. Once Upon a Helheim

**Disclaimer:** I'm actually only writing this disclaimer thing out of habit. Still don't own the Avengers.

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><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

Once Upon a Helheim

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><p>Jörmungand looked around him with a quiet sigh breathing out his lips. Their father was safe now from the immediate danger of another expulsion of magic imploding and exploding from his being, but it was only a fraction of one of the many dangers he has over his head.<p>

He often wondered when the calm would break, where either his brother Fenrir, would bare his teeth and shatter the abysmal silence in space, or their sister Hela, whose realms wouldn't think twice to take up arms and ride into a fierce battle under her name, or he, who could so easily destroy worlds under the coils of his body and bring the destruction so many feared. And even that, he thought grimly, was an understatement compared to what any of them are capable of – with them together, enraged and bathing in their own chaotic force, was a very unthinkable thought.

Fenrir was excused from the containment chamber and had went up the recently burned down common living floor of the Avengers Tower, now restored into its original state, thanks to his brother. He was laughing and chatting away with Tony Stark and the others, leaving him and Hela to do their work.

Compared to him and his sister, Fenrir was a full blown hothead, in part due to his warm blooded shifting form of that of a wolf. Jörmungand knew perfectly well that he was only tempering his mood, because if not, he would destroy his way to find their father's tormentor, regardless of how many lives he tramples on – not that they cared much of it, life and death was just another reality of the universe, especially with their sister as an avatar for Death itself, it almost means nothing to them, except for their father's death, which is a special kind of death that not even their sister could mend.

Speaking of his sister, Jörmungand raised his eyes towards where Hela was and found her back to her foul and dark mood, moving quietly around the perimeter as she neutralized the force and enchanted their father into a deep, peaceful sleep.

She had always been the one to shoulder it for all of them, even when she shouldn't. Hela grew up too fast too soon; she carried the weight of ruling more than one realm at a very young age – and despite having stayed with their father for a bit longer, she had been the one who got the worse when it came into her place of banishment, if you would call it that.

He walked closer over to her, and easily rested his head atop hers, undoubtedly towering over her, which earned him a pinch on his cheek. A rueful smile graced his lips without stepping away, knowing that nothing irks his sister more than being teased about her height against both he and Fenrir – that or calling her a moose, courtesy of her antlered crown or headgear.

"He will be fine," Jörmungand wiggled his chin on her head.

Hela raised her arms up and stopped his head from wiggling over hers, for fear of having a drilled hole on her skull, and replied with mock-sarcasm, "Is that supposed to assure me, or you?"

"Either, or both," He stepped back and rolled his shoulders to rid of the kinks from doing boring manual labour, "If anything, I'm bracing myself for the worse."

"Worse? When did we ever do worse?" Hela retorted.

Jörmungand smirked and ruffled his sister's hair before going back to his own work.

* * *

><p>Despite the warm welcome he received, Fenrir thought maybe Hela and Jörmungand are having a better time working on last minute adjustments on the Soul Forge emulator and taking care of their father than he is, because as soon as Tony had chugged down a piping hot mug of black coffee and his first glass of whiskey, the idle chat they had on the way up the common floor was replaced by question after question about them.<p>

"Finley, is that a play on your real name 'Fenrir'?" Asked Tony almost instantly which Fenrir nodded his head to, "So you change into a giant ferocious wolf?"

"Giant is an understatement," He replied nonchalantly, "Ferocious, depends."

"Understatement?" Tony cocked a brow, the question now flooding everyone's faces in confirmation.

"In your Midgardian tales, or as we'll have it, Asgardian gossip and rumours, I will have children that would swallow the moon and the sun," Fenrir elaborated, "But the truth is, there are no children, and Jorge is the one who can perform those feats. I would have indigestion of I swallowed a planet without chewing."

"Wait, what?" That was Steve, followed by Bucky, "You eat planets?"

"No, not really," Fenrir shrugged his shoulders, "But Jörmungand swallowed a dying star that threatened to level the realms Hela reigns over."

Everyone stared wide eyed, some dubiously at him, "I may have devoured the nearby planetoids to keep them from decimating into rocks that would rain down across that universe's region."

"You ate planetoids?" Bucky resounded again, Tony on the other hand asking, "Hela has realms? Planets?!"

"Didn't you know?" Fenrir asked back, confused, "I thought you knew."

"Hela has planets," Tony said again but without the questioning intonation, "She rules fucking planets and she didn't tell us?!"

"If it makes you feel better, they're not all planets," Fenrir said and looked to be counting them in his head, "Nifleheim is the only planet, the rest are moons, planetoids, and colonies on the planet's ring."

"The fact that you left out the numbers is a little disconcerting," Clint said, everyone turned to him, Tony with his 'Bird-Guy-Used-A-Big-Word' look, "But in the myths it said she rules that realm, planet with the hard to pronounce name and Hel."

"Okay, let's go Myth Buster on this," Fenrir grinned and leaned his body forward, his arms resting on his thighs, "Hela was never banished. A very long time ago, a plague diminished the Asgardian population by half, the Norns; those hateful vile creatures told Odin that Hela should be offered as a sacrifice to Death to rid of the disease killing off his people. Odin never liked us to begin with, so he fabricated a lie-"

"Have care how you speak," Thor exclaimed, standing tall threateningly over Fenrir who looked at him without much concern, "It is my father of whom you speak of."

"And it is my sister's unfortunate fate that I tell of, one that was orchestrated by your ill-meaning father," Fenrir replied with icy conviction, "I will have you speak to the Norns if my sister has not already claimed their putrid souls."

Fenrir snarled at Thor and mock-threateningly added, "If your Asgardian tales were true, I would have made an appetizer of Odin for what he's done to my family, however, I'm not an uncouth being like you overbearing Asgardians."

Hela and Jörmungand just got off the lift that moment and found Fenrir and Thor exchanging heated stares, ready to pounce at each other.

Jörmungand rolled his eyes and jabbed at his brother, "Are you ever not going to talk to others without instigating a fight, you domineering mutt."

"Indeed, maybe we should put a muzzle on him, keep him on a short leash," Hela added with humour.

"The worm and the moose talks!" Fenrir exclaimed exasperatedly, leaning back on the couch with a plop, crossing his arms over his chest, "That would be the last time I would stick my neck up for you two."

Hela and Jörmungand exchanged looks of mischief and walked over to their brother, taking a seat on either side, his younger brother teased, "That was what you said the last time."

Hela nuzzled her cheek against Fenrir's, "Oh, don't be so harsh on him now. Look at him! He looks like a kicked puppy!"

They both laughed and Fenrir fumed with a cry of insult, grabbing his siblings into a chokehold.

"Mercy! Mercy!" Jörmungand shouted in between laughs, Hela simmering into giggles and called out, "We're sorry, we couldn't help it!"

Thor back down and moved towards his seat, watching his brother's children tease and make fun of each other in good nature. He remembered himself being the same with his brother, the last time feeling like it was centuries ago but it was only a few meagre years just before his coronation that he and his brother had poked fun at each other. He wondered why he and his brother has gone so far to hate each other, to the point that they threatened to kill each other – no, that's not right, Loki never once threatened to kill him, it was just a question looming in his mind that he made out to be the truth. Perhaps, he was caught up in the moment and he thought his brother was already beyond reach. The guilt swelled up in once again, Loki had been by his side ever since and he neglected that; he pushed back the thought that Loki had lost his children too soon, that there were others who were dying just to be with him, and he still neglected his presence. How can he be so stupid?

The three siblings all looked at Thor and simmered down, Hela the first to speak, answering his internal question, "You were too caught up with your own selfishness and vanity to even care."

"You handled our father like an accessory," Jörmungand piped in.

Fenrir snorted a laugh and said, "You're just naturally dumb."

Thor looked at them confused; the others a little lost if they missed an exchange but were sure they didn't. Thor hasn't spoken since he sat back down.

"I already explained it to Barton," Hela said noncommittally.

"We can taste and smell emotions and can loosely translate thoughts," Jörmungand answered for him and Fenrir.

Natasha raised a brow with piqued curiosity; those abilities would certainly work great during operations, she mused.

"So you're not telepathic?" Bucky asked.

"We are, but we mostly only use it on each other," Fenrir answered, "It's annoying to hear people talk to themselves; you don't even know how crazy it sounds."

Tony held out a hand to silence everyone, his face beginning to turn scarlet; everyone lost count how many glasses he's down since they started talking.

"Point-Break, stop interrupting people when they're talking," the irony of Tony's words crept up in everyone's expressions, "Please continue the story."

Tony waved his hand in gesture to prompt the story where it left off, Fenrir indulging him and went on, "Odin fabricated the lie that Hela would be Queen of Nifleheim, but it turns out Nifleheim was teeming with pirates and criminals, leaving the souls the roam the physical realm of Nifleheim without peace. The point is, Hela was left on a very dangerous planet teeming with vicious aliens from every corner of the universe to die, and need I add she was only the equivalent of a thirteen year-old Midgardian at that time."

"Your father left little a girl to live alone in a place like that?" Clint looked at Thor incredulously, "Seriously, I'm saying this now, and again. No wonder Loki went batshit crazy!"

"It turned out quite alright," Hela held a cool, nonchalant face, masking her discomfort about the topic. It was darkest point in her life after all, and made light of it, "I got rid of the villains, acquired their riches and used it to build the realms from the ground up. Now, only an idiot would dare cross my realm without permission. Oh! Like those vile Norns. They trespassed on Nifleheim and tried to collect a piece of Helheim's soil. They really were so stupid…"

"What the hell are you?"

Hela looked up at Tony and smiled devilishly, "Queen of the realms of Nifleheim, Harbinger of Ragnarök, Goddess of Death, Rebirth, Pestilence, and Disease, Creator and One-True Ruler of the dimension of Helheim, need I go on?"

"You could say that's she could be megalomaniac, but it's all true," Fenrir laughed.

"She's purposefully leaving out that she's one sadistic fu-" Hela jabbed an elbow on Jörmungand's side before he could continue.

"You have one big, stretchy mouth," Hela grumbled.

After hearing all that, Tony decided to stop asking questions before he acquires PTSD from all the tales those siblings could share with them and left everyone else to steer the topic on neutral ground, on things that didn't involve intergalactic planets and sadistic rulers.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Two chapters in one day! Yay! Damn puns. Hahah.

Thanks to Xtyne for reviewing the last chapter, always so quick on the review button! I've decided to from now one, I'll give a shout out to those who leaves me a little message on the review box, because, let's face it, who doesn't love reading reviews from their readers?

I guess that's it for today. Don't forget to fave, favourite and review! And check out my profile too, I have some surprise there for everyone, in case it was missed in the last chapter.


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